


A Killer Smile

by Aubriearts



Category: Creepypasta - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Blood and Gore, Character Death, Creepypasta, Emotional Baggage, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, I have no idea what I'm doing, M/M, Minor Character Death, Proxies (Slender Man Mythos), Reader-Insert, Romance, Slenderverse, Smut, Violence, how do you tag on here, jeff is a good guy but not a good guy, possible future smut, reader - Freeform, tags to be updated in the future as the story goes on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:22:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 40
Words: 55,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25538728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aubriearts/pseuds/Aubriearts
Summary: "You promise you won't kill me?""Only if you do what I say and avoid calling the cops now or in the future. And trust me, I'd know." You didn't doubt that, considering what had already transpired. Shakily, you nodded your head, locking eyes with him and silently agreeing to his terms."Fan-fucking-tastic. So, what's your name, dollface?" He questioned, finally moving off of you and giving you an eager smile. You were at a loss of words from his immediate change in mood and your new situation, although you couldn't help but admit, he certainly had a killer smile.
Relationships: Creepypasta/Reader, Jeffrey Woods | Jeff The Killer/Original Character(s), Jeffrey Woods | Jeff the Killer/Reader
Comments: 117
Kudos: 252





	1. Unfortunate Circumstances

**Author's Note:**

> A fic I've been eager to start working on for a long time! This will be cross-posted on my Tumblr as well. The reader is above the age of 18.

The sound of your tv was droning on in the background, and it seemed rather ironic that you had chosen to listen to the news at that current moment.

"Tonight we will be covering another case, seemingly from the same murderer that's been making cases all over the states," the newsman stated monotonously, "The infamous smile killer, known for murdering in the night and leaving his victims with a carved smile."

You swallowed, standing still, eyeing the man in front of you, and any possible escape routes you might have, or maybe something to bash him over the head with. 

"We are warning all citizens to lock their doors and windows and stay inside overnight. Make sure to have safety measures with you, and to be prepared for a possible break-in. The killer is known for being vicious and psychopathic, making him extremely dangerous."

The man smirked at you, listening to the newscaster as well. He licked his lips and eyed you up and down, seemingly already onto your plans of possible escape. You surveyed his appearance as he stood across from you in your dining room. 

Long, thick black hair that seemed to weave along his upper body. Scarred skin casting hues of white and pale red across his body. His eyes were in even worse condition, one shining a bright blue with minimal scars, the other completely burned and casting a glossy shine to it. The cherry on top of the whole look was the irritated stretch of a carved in smile slit across his cheeks.

Perhaps, you thought for a moment, if he wasn't so scarred up he would be extremely attractive. However, you added on, that would only be if it weren't for his blood-soaked clothing, and the fact that he was armed by multiple knives, standing in your house, staring you down.

You jerked a bit, muscles aching from holding the same position for too long, and he chuckled at you, narrowing his eyes slightly. You swallowed nervously again, eyes shooting across the room one more time before landing back on the killer standing in front of you. If you were lucky enough you could easily make it to your back door and run away.

But, of course, that would be if you could run faster than him. If he didn't beat you to the door, hold you down, and presumably slit your throat. You could try the front door, after all, you were much closer to it than him, but you had also locked it when you returned home from work. He chuckled again, and you returned your eyes to his form. He took a step forward, and you took a step back. He smirked at that and licked his lips another time.

"You know, dollface, nobody has to end up hurt." His voice was gravelly and deep, and it sent chills down your spine. You snorted.

"Yeah, like I'd believe that from a psychotic murderer." He whistled, stepping forward again.

"You've got some bite to ya, don't ya? I like that," his eyes roamed over you again before settling on your face, "Ya see, I ain't here to kill ya. I just need a place to rest and bandage up for a while." You looked at him confused, eyes roaming his form again before settling on the issue.

His left leg had been badly injured. You couldn't see exactly how through his cargo pants, but there was a very large hole and an extremely large bloodstain that seemed to be spreading as you spoke. You went to respond again, finally moving to look up to his face, but before you could get the words out he charged forward and slammed your form into your wall, his arm on your throat. You choked out against the force, nails clawing at his form as he smirked down at you. 

"Believe it or not, brute force ain't my style. But desperate time call for desperate measure I guess, heh." He narrowed his eyes at you and then smiled cooly.

"Either you let me stay here and you help fix up my wounds, or I slit your throat and go on my way." You tried getting out words, but could only move your mouth desperately from lack of oxygen. He let up just enough for you to breathe in, and you sucked in air as fast as you could, coughing out a bit.

"How do you know I wouldn't call the cops?" You weakly shot out at him, and he smiled at you, mischief shining in his eyes. 

"I have a solution to that." As he stated so, the tv cut off in the background, and your phone from across the room quickly died. All your power short-circuited except for the lights hanging above you.

"Ya see, in this profession you get friends that can help ya with that sort of thing," he laughed at your defeated expression and cocked a brow, "So, dollface, we got a deal or what?" You sighed, as you had no other options.

With the amount of force, he was already using being too much for you to stop him you knew you couldn't overpower him, especially since it was becoming obvious he was barely even trying. With how fast he had gotten over to you there was no way you could outrun him either. With his "friend" shutting off all communications you also had no way to call for help. You were stuck, trapped with a mad man having to rely on his word to survive. 

He had been watching you intently as you weighed your options, his eyes curiously seeking to see if you had a rebuttal, although he already had an aura of victory surrounding him. You ran your tongue across your bottom lip before sucking it into your mouth and chewing it for a bit.

"You promise you won't kill me?"

"Only if you do what I say and avoid calling the cops now or in the future. And trust me, I'd know." You didn't doubt that, considering what had already transpired. Shakily, you nodded your head, locking eyes with him and silently agreeing to his terms.

"Fan-fucking-tastic. So, what's your name, dollface?" He questioned, finally moving off of you and giving you an eager smile. You were at a loss of words from his immediate change in mood and your new situation, although you couldn't help but admit, he certainly had a killer smile.


	2. Pushing It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Are you enjoying yourself?" You sarcastically asked him, and he growled, sliding off the sink and pinning you to it, body pressed against yours.
> 
> "Maybe I am, doll," he narrowed his at you before slyly smiling, "You could always help me out too, although I'm certainly not an easy lay. You'd have to work for that." He leaned his face closer to yours and frowned irritatedly when you tried to pull away.
> 
> "I don't really like the way you're acting, ya know? Seems to me like you're forgetting who's in charge here and the situation you're in. I've got a temper, so keep pushing me and see what happens. Understand?" You swallowed and nodded. He scoffed.
> 
> "I said, do you understand?" He spat at you forcefully.
> 
> "Y-yes, I'm sorry. I understand." You responded quickly, trying to appease him best you could. He smirked and pulled away, hopping back up onto your sink. 
> 
> "Good, now get back to work, and I might reward you later." You inwardly rolled your eyes at that, as any reward from him would probably just end up being torture.

You trembled nervously before him, his eyes boring deeply into you as you struggled to open your first aid kit. He had insisted your first order of business was to assist him with his injuries, but you weren't expecting him to go into your bathroom and start stripping. Of course, he still bared his underwear, but that didn't make it any less nerve-wracking, especially considering the severity of his injuries.

His torso was covered in gashes, some fresh and some old, and you had seriously underestimated the severity of his leg wound. What you had previously thought to be a large gash turned out to be a somewhat gaping hole. He seemed to sense your unease and sighed, looking away from you.

"So, dollface, what're ya doing livin' out here all alone?" He questioned in a detached tone as if he was just asking to fill the silence, rather than from curiosity. 

"Just wanted some peace and quiet I guess." You responded, trying to level out your heart rate.

"So, what're you doing murdering people for a living?" Your question caused him to snort, and when you glanced at him again the dark look in his eyes made you wish you hadn't asked.

"Oh, sweetheart," he leaned forward and grabbed your chin roughly, forcing you to lock eyes with him, "I think that's a can of worms you really don't wanna open." The deep level of his voice forced you to tremble before him and he gave you a cocky smirk in response.

"Besides," he sighed irritatedly, "I don't like talkin' about myself that much." He blew his bangs out of his face and nodded at the kit in your hands, causing you to resume opening it. You reached into your medicine cabinet and grabbed some alcohol, and the cloth you'd placed on your counter. After first wetting the cloth with water you hesitated, hands floating hear him waiting for permission.

"Either ya help me or I kill ya, thought I made that clear." He growled out at you, leaning back and waiting for you to continue. You nodded quickly, and with a deep breath began scrubbing at the blood coating his chest. You washed the cloth best you could and then tried to work up the courage to clean his leg. 

As you started slowly swiping around the area furthest from the wound you slowly built up the tolerance to move farther in. When you finally reached the edge of the injury his knuckles tightened where he was grasping onto your sink, and you did your best to remain gentle. His breathing increased slightly as he stared down at you, almost taunting you to try something. You dabbed across where the wound was open as fast as you could, before pulling away to grab a fresh cloth, drenching that in the alcohol you had grabbed.

"This is going to hurt." You tenderly warned him, readying to trace across his chest. 

"Can't hurt any more than it already does." He went to shoot back, although he sucked in a breath as you started sterilizing his wounds. His breathing was more labored now, and while you would have attributed it to pain, the way he was working his lip between his teeth led you to believe otherwise. You laughed.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" You sarcastically asked him, and he growled, sliding off the sink and pinning you to it, body pressed against yours.

"Maybe I am, doll," he narrowed his at you before slyly smiling, "You could always help me out too, although I'm certainly not an easy lay. You'd have to work for that." He leaned his face closer to yours and frowned irritatedly when you tried to pull away.

"I don't really like the way you're acting, ya know? Seems to me like you're forgetting who's in charge here and the situation you're in. I've got a temper, so keep pushing me and see what happens. Understand?" You swallowed and nodded. He scoffed.

"I said, do you understand?" He spat at you forcefully.

"Y-yes, I'm sorry. I understand." You responded quickly, trying to appease him best you could. He smirked and pulled away, hopping back up onto your sink. 

"Good, now get back to work, and I might reward you later." You inwardly rolled your eyes at that, as any reward from him would probably just end up being torture. 

You took another deep breath and began to pat around his leg wound with the alcohol, making sure to thoroughly saturate it before setting down your cloth and grabbing a needle, preparing to do his stitches.

"If you fuck this up, I won't go easy on ya." He leaned back and elevated his leg a bit, watching you intently.

"Well, lucky for you Mr. Killer, I happen to be trained in this." He snorted and took a deep breath himself while you inserted the needle to place the first stitch.

"Mr. Killer, huh?" His tone was a bit playful, but knowing how he had acted before, you could tell that certainly wasn't a lead-in for you to be relaxed.

"Well, what else am I supposed to call you?" You tried to hide the irritation in your voice, but you couldn't help but let a little shine through.

"Jeff." He hummed in response, glancing around your bathroom. You paused.

"Jeff?" You looked at him in question, shocked he'd even tell you that.

"You got a problem with that?" There was an attitude in his voice, and you raised your hands in defense. 

"Not at all. Just shocked you'd tell someone your name." You resumed your stitch placement and tried to focus, lest you face whatever punishment he might try to give you.

"'S not like knowing my name is gonna reveal anything about me. Jeff isn't exactly some unique special name." He seemed slightly whiny about it, although he did have a point. He certainly wasn't the first Jeff you had ever met or heard of before. You hummed at him to tell him you'd heard him, and finished up your sutures. You placed some ointment on top of it and covered them with a bandage.

"You'll wanna take it easy. Those aren't high-grade stitches so they'll come undone if you're too rough on them."

"Yeah, yeah. This ain't my first rodeo." He grumbled, watching you get to work on his chest. You finished those up much faster as the injuries were quite light compared to his leg. 

"All done." You alerted him, pulling away and washing your hands to try and rid yourself of the feeling of them being covered in blood. He slid off your counter yet again and tiredly shoved his dirty clothes back on.

"Ya got any food in this place?" He questioned, already heading for your kitchen, likely to raid it, and you sighed, packing away all of your medical supplies.

"Of course I do, dumbass." You muttered to yourself, and he answered you with an 'I heard that' from down the hall. As you shuffled after him, you found him digging into some leftover spaghetti you'd had stored in your fridge. That was meant to be your dinner. Great.

"This shits actually pretty good. Homemade?" He asked after swallowing a huge mouthful.

"Yes, it was." You sighed, walking past him to rummage around in your pantry for a snack, settling on a few packs of cheese crackers to tide you over for the evening. Doing all of that had cost you most of your appetite anyways. The two of you stood in silence for a few moments, you timidly munching your crackers, and him noisily slurping up your pasta as he looked around your home now that his guard was down. Or at least, as far down as he'd allow you to think it was. As you were about to ask him another question you were interrupted by some surging and popping coming from your living room. As you charged out to see what was happening, you gasped at the sight before you.

"What the fuck?!?" You shouted out, looking at the fact that there was a boy coming out of your television. He clicked his tongue at you and wiggled his way out. 

"That's not a very nice way to greet a guest, now is it?" He taunted, his voice crackling from electricity. Jeff soon joined you and grunted at the shorter male now standing before you.

"What do you want, bitch boy?" Jeff asked, crossing his arms and standing beside you.

"Not much, dickhead. Just stopping by to let you know that Slender is pissed." He shot back, stretching out, electricity fizzing around him as he did so.

"Why the fuck is he pissed?" 

"'Cuz you invaded someone's home when you weren't supposed to, had me help you silence their electricity, and then you didn't kill them." You kept switching your eyes between the two of them, confused and concerned for what was about to happen to you. Their eyes both landed on you and you froze.

"Well, I don't have any reason to kill them. They haven't called the cops obviously, haven't tried to run away or attack me, and they stitched me up real good." He said, shockingly taking your defense. Or at least, so you thought.

"Although, I suppose if Slender wants me to off 'em, gotta do what the big man says." Great, absolutely fantastic.

"Actually, he wants you to bring them to the mansion first. He wants to see them." What? Go to some strange place, presumably with other psychos, no you'd rather not. When their eyes returned to you, you inwardly screamed.

"I just said that out loud didn't I?"

"Yep." The two of them echoed.

"Sorry, doll, but orders are orders." You went to pull away from him, but before you could, he had already grabbed you and started pulling you with him, towards your television. 

"You can't be serious!" You struggled against him, and he hesitated before sighing.

"We should probably knock them out shouldn't we?"

"Yep. Going through the screen is always too scary the first time, do your thing." The shorter man answered back, already halfway in your screen. You wanted to question what he meant, but unfortunately, your vision was fading to black before you could get the words out. The last thing you remembered was a jolt of electricity before hearing an uproar of voices you didn't know.


	3. Welcome to the Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It is true that this is Jeff's fault, and he will be punished," Jeff seemed to stiffen up at that, "But that doesn't change your situation. I can either take away your memories, kill you, or-" He seemed to pause, and you sent him a questioning glance, as did the other three in the room.
> 
> "Or?" You asked, with a bit of hope in your voice.
> 
> "Or, you could work for me." He finished, consideration lighting up his tone. 
> 
> "I'm sorry, but what? You can't be serious!" Tim shouted out in disbelief, Slender turning to look at him.
> 
> "He's right, Slender. I mean, they're just some rando." Jeff added, gesturing towards you.
> 
> "Yes, Jeff, some 'rando' that you dragged into this mess." Slender fiercely bit back, causing Jeff to shut his mouth.
> 
> "It would be more convenient, plus it would stop you from dying," he began, turning to face you, "You live alone near the woods, you obviously have first aid experience, and you're already aware of several of us, including me. I will let you choose."
> 
> "But boss-" 
> 
> "No buts! I said they can choose." Slender interrupted Tim, sending him a blank stare that made him sigh in agitation but go silent nonetheless. You hesitated and thought over his words.

Feeling your consciousness return to you, you groaned out at the throbbing feeling in the back of your head and tried to remember what had happened to you. Feeling unfamiliar sheets underneath you, you remembered that you had been kidnapped by Jeff, and taken somewhere unfamiliar, with assumedly no way to escape. 

"Hey! T-they're moving, T-Tim!" You heard an unfamiliar voice shout out, and then angry grunting from another individual.

"Well, then why don't you go get the boss, Toby. I can handle this better than you would." Another voice answered him, and you swallowed as you listened to someone move out of the room and slam the door, which was followed by a sigh.

"Are you just gonna lay there pretending to be asleep the whole time?" The second voice, Tim, had asked you. You considered your options for a moment, and then timidly opened your eyes. You were met with dark brown eyes clouded with multiple emotions. Sadness, anger, disappointment, and mostly, annoyance. 

"So, uh," you started, nervously sitting up, "Where am I?" When you fully sat up you winced in pain, finally feeling a full headache, nausea hitting you at full force. Tim sighed, handing you a glass of water and a pill.

"Slender Mansion. You'll want to take this." You shot him a questioning look, unsure of taking a drug handed to you by a stranger. He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"It'll help with the headache. It's caused by the boss." He informed you, urging you to take it. With a sigh, realizing you probably didn't have much of a choice, you took the drug. Within a few moments, you were pleased to discover your pain was fading away.

"Why am I here?" You hesitantly questioned him, scooting into yourself. Before he could respond, another voice answered for him.

"Because I need to solve an idiot's problem." The voice echoed within your head, and you winced back in confusion, before spotting the form at the doorway. You almost laughed, but the aura he was letting off stopped you.

"You- you can't be serious. Slenderman? I must be going insane, you aren't real." Your voice was full of disbelief, and yet the man in front of you was indeed faceless and at least seven feet tall, towering above those in the room. You had to be in some sort of weird dream, or nightmare, but considering the events that led you here, you were beginning to believe in the fact that this might all be real.

"I am indeed real, child," his voice echoed within your mind again, "Although I understand you must be confused."

"Why am I here?" You boldly questioned him, but as he took strides toward you, you pressed closer to the wall behind you.

"I need to erase your memories." His hand reached out towards you, and you whimpered out in fear.

"Erase my memories?"

"Yes. You've learned things you don't need to be aware of, and so I need to do this to prevent you from remembering them." He answered your question.

"Prevent-? But why? Isn't there anything else you can do? This isn't even my fault," you shouted out, Jeff suddenly trudging into the room, hand resting in his pockets with a smug look on his face with Toby following behind him, "This is all his fault!" You finished, pointing at him. The being in front of you went silent for a moment, and you feared you'd made him angry.

"It is true that this is Jeff's fault, and he will be punished," Jeff seemed to stiffen up at that, "But that doesn't change your situation. I can either take away your memories, kill you, or-" He seemed to pause, and you sent him a questioning glance, as did the other three in the room.

"Or?" You asked, with a bit of hope in your voice.

"Or, you could work for me." He finished, consideration lighting up his tone. 

"I'm sorry, but what? You can't be serious!" Tim shouted out in disbelief, Slender turning to look at him.

"He's right, Slender. I mean, they're just some rando." Jeff added, gesturing towards you.

"Yes, Jeff, some 'rando' that you dragged into this mess." Slender fiercely bit back, causing Jeff to shut his mouth.

"It would be more convenient, plus it would stop you from dying," he began, turning to face you, "You live alone near the woods, you obviously have first aid experience, and you're already aware of several of us, including me. I will let you choose."

"But boss-" 

"No buts! I said they can choose." Slender interrupted Tim, sending him a blank stare that made him sigh in agitation but go silent nonetheless. You hesitated and thought over his words. You could either lose all of your memories, lose your life, or end up working for some serial killer mafia boss. 

"And there's no way I can just walk out of here and hold my tongue?" You questioned, looking up at him.

"That would be too big of a risk for us. I gave you your options." You sighed and nodded your head.

"What would I have to do?" 

"You'll provide shelter, food, and medical aid to the residents of this mansion when they need it. You will never report them to the police, and if questioned you will deny having any affiliation with them. You will be provided supplies and if you require them acting lessons for if such a situation arises. At least, that is, if you continue to live in your own residence, rather than living here."

"Living here?" You asked confused.

"Yes. For now, you may continue to live a somewhat normal life. But, eventually, there may come a time when your presence will be fully required here. Is that understood?" Tim was shaking his head in disbelief, Jeff had a look of complete shock at his boss's offer, and Toby seemed to be the only one excited about this, practically vibrating with joy at the prospect of a new coworker. You took a deep breath and looked up at him again.

"I accept your offer." As you said so, you winced in pain and looked down at your hand where there was now a black mark forming, although it soon disappeared below your skin.

"Jeff, as punishment," Slender stated, turning to look at him, "You will now be living full time with our newest member. You will provide them with protection while also resuming your regular work duties. Am I understood?"

"You can't be serious! I have to live with them and look after them like they're some kid or something?" Jeff shouted out in anger and disbelief, but Slender was quick to silence him.

"Am I understood?" 

"Yes Sir." Jeff let out disappointedly, and you couldn't help but inwardly laugh at the change of situation from when he had done the same to you. 

"Well, then, it's official. Welcome to the family." Slender told you, turning to shake your hand, which you allowed politely.

"I suppose it's time they meet the rest of us, then," Tim muttered, storming out of the room. You were a bit giddy over the fact that you were now able to keep your life and memories, although you really should have been more worried, as you had no idea what you were about to get yourself into.


	4. Eat a Snickers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gasping out, you looked up to see a creature towering above you, it's hands tight around your neck, growls draining out of its mouth. Your hands were clawing at its own, trying to get them off of your throat, but the sudden lack of oxygen was draining out your force. The creature growled out louder, and tightened its claws around you, digging large gashes into your neck and allowing your blood to drip down.
> 
> You could hear people moving towards you, but the sound of your blood rushing through your ears was drowning out whatever they were saying. The creature had leaned forward, and you could feel its teeth sinking into your flesh. You thought that you had screamed out at the feeling, but with lack of oxygen getting to you you couldn't be sure anymore. As your vision started going black again, the creature ended up loosening its grip, and as you tried to focus your vision someone was forcing the creature off of you. You slid down to the floor, and as someone bent over you, trying to call out to you, you faded back into sleep yet again, surrounded by the sound of shouting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback is always appreciated!

After Tim had filed out of the room you soon stood up to join him, as you needed to meet the rest of the residents. Slender needed to talk with Jeff, and Toby had other things to do, so Slender simply instructed you to go down the stairs at the end of the hall where you would be able to find the others. Unfortunately for you, it seemed not all of the residents were aware of your presence yet. 

You were nearing the bottom of the stairs and the sound of voices was growing louder. As you went to turn into the main hallway, you had suddenly been slammed into the wall behind you. Gasping out, you looked up to see a creature towering above you, it's hands tight around your neck, growls draining out of its mouth. Your hands were clawing at its own, trying to get them off of your throat, but the sudden lack of oxygen was draining out your force. The creature growled out louder, and tightened its claws around you, digging large gashes into your neck and allowing your blood to drip down.

You could hear people moving towards you, but the sound of your blood rushing through your ears was drowning out whatever they were saying. The creature had leaned forward, and you could feel its teeth sinking into your flesh. You thought that you had screamed out at the feeling, but with lack of oxygen getting to you you couldn't be sure anymore. As your vision started going black again, the creature ended up loosening its grip, and as you tried to focus your vision someone was forcing the creature off of you. You slid down to the floor, and as someone bent over you, trying to call out to you, you faded back into sleep yet again, surrounded by the sound of shouting.

When you next awoke you were placed in a different room again, arms and legs restrained, unable to move even your head about. The furniture below you felt like a medical bed, and going off of the bright florescent lights above you it would make sense that you were in some sort of medical room. You tried wiggling your body to get some mobility, but you seemed to be strapped down tight. Recalling your earlier situation that seemed to land you into this situation, panic began to flood your veins.

You could tell from the twinge in your arm that some sort of fluid was being pumped into you through an IV, and the fear of not knowing what it was only made things worse. You could hear a fast beeping, and the realization hit you that the beeping was most likely your heart rate. You were breathing heavily, and you began to feel light-headed, sobbing out in fear of passing out yet again. You began to hear a loud beeping, other than your heart rate, and soon someone was rushing over to you, yelling for you to calm down.

"It's your own damn fault they're freaking out!" A voice angrily shouted out, a voice you soon realized was Jeff as he leaned over you.

"Did you really have to strap them down like they're in a psych ward?!" He glared at a second man that was soon leaning over you, working on undoing your straps.

"I did it for their own good, I didn't want them jerking up and messing with their stitches!" The man's voice was deep and soothing, although it was full of venom that seemed to make you even more nervous.

"S-stitches..?" Your voice was trembling and your body was shaking, and as you spoke they both looked at you worried. The second man sighed and tried to give you a reassuring smile.

"You see, one of our little workers Jack didn't know who you were, and of course, his demon instincts took over and well, I'm sure you know what happened." The man explained the situation and your current health concerns and told you he was the head doctor at the mansion, a mister Dr. Smiley. 

"Yes, you're quite lucky Jeff was there to save you. He even took a few hits for you, as well, to get Jack off of you." You glanced at Jeff upon hearing this, and he avoided your eyes.

"You saved me?" You questioned him, eyebrows raised, although you were a bit suspicious.

"I was just doin' my job, don't get a big head." Was his answer, although deep down both of you knew that wasn't the whole truth, although neither of you said anything, unable to place the feeling. You went to sit up but quickly decided better from the intense sharp sensations flowing from your neck. Smiley instead elevated your bed so that you could still be laying back, but see what was happening. This view allowed you to see the various bandages and stitches that were now decorating Jeff from where he had protected you.

"We're going to keep you here overnight so we can monitor you." He told you, although you weren't sure if sleeping here would be safe, he said it was an order from Slender himself, so it had to be obeyed. After a few moments of silence, three more people entered the room, and you recognized two of them. The blond that had come from your TV, the man that had attacked you, and a female you weren't familiar with. The blond introduced himself as BEN, and the female as Natalie. You had already known now that the other was Jack, but he introduced himself nonetheless.

"I'm so sorry about what I did," he timidly told you, "Sometimes my instincts take over and I don't have any control over it. I just didn't recognize your scent, and I just got a bit hungry." He looked quite upset about the whole ordeal, and considering you were still alive you couldn't find it in your heart to hate him for it, although you did tell him you couldn't quite forgive him yet.

"Just eat a Snickers next time." You jokingly stated with a sigh, leaning back in your bed. He seemed a bit confused, although BEN and Natalie seemed to get your joke.

"I like this one," Natalie spoke up, walking over and ruffling your hair. "I think we're gonna get along great." BEN soon floated over, yes, floated you made sure to note, and the three of you began joking around as Jack excused himself to go take care of some work. After a little while, Smiley ended up kicking them out, stating he needed to look over your injuries so that you could get some sleep. Soon, Jeff and you were left alone in the room as Smiley went off to bed.

"You better not keep me up all night." He warned with a glare as he took the bed opposite yours and settled down. You hummed in answer and simply settled on staring up at the now dark ceiling in silence, as shockingly, after all you'd been through, you didn't find yourself feeling tired. You instead thought over what had happened to you so quickly, and eventually drifted off to sleep, caught up in your mind.


	5. Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You won't have to worry, only fellow contractees can see the marking." He then lifted his shirt to reveal the large mark resting on his abdomen. He pulled you to your feet, and you soon followed after him as he began walking away from you.
> 
> "So, is it in a different location for everyone?" You questioned curiously, falling into stride beside him. 
> 
> "It tends to be somewhat random," he paused, opening a door for you that led into a hallway, "Some people have it on their arms and hands, some their torsos, lower bodies, you name it, someone's had a mark there. I'm not sure if there's a specific reason it takes a certain location, but usually, the larger the mark is, the stronger your tie to the contractor." You looked down at your hand again and figured your ties to Slender must be fairly light considering the fact that your mark barely took up the back of your hand.
> 
> "You must be pretty close to Slender then." You mused, thinking back on the mark he bared that covered his stomach. He gave a dark chuckle at that.
> 
> "It doesn't necessarily mean we're close, darling. It just means in the end it would be harder for me to escape from him. It means he's got more influence over my soul." He informed you bitterly.

When you woke up the following morning it was to the feeling of your bandages being changed, as Smiley got a head start on taking care of you. Following that, he pulled your IV and handed you another one of the pills Tim had handed you yesterday. 

"What even is this?" You questioned, taking the pill and downing it.

"It works to counteract Slender's natural effects on people. Being around him disorients you and gives you headaches and nausea to say the least, so people here in the Underworld formulated pills like this to ward off abilities like that to be able to work with their contractors." He informed you, leaning on the counter across from you.

"Contractors?"

"Yes, contractors. Slender is now your contractor, as you formed a pact with him," he began, picking up your hand and rubbing the back of it, forcing the mark to reappear, "And therefore, you need to take the pills to be around him." You watched as the mark gradually faded into your skin again, and hummed before a thought occurred to you.

"So, can anyone see the mark?" Having to explain a sudden mark that would come and go seemed inconvenient, and impossible, to say the least, but Smiley seemed to read your thoughts, and he smiled.

"You won't have to worry, only fellow contractees can see the marking." He then lifted his shirt to reveal the large mark resting on his abdomen. He pulled you to your feet, and you soon followed after him as he began walking away from you.

"So, is it in a different location for everyone?" You questioned curiously, falling into stride beside him. 

"It tends to be somewhat random," he paused, opening a door for you that led into a hallway, "Some people have it on their arms and hands, some their torsos, lower bodies, you name it, someone's had a mark there. I'm not sure if there's a specific reason it takes a certain location, but usually, the larger the mark is, the stronger your tie to the contractor." You looked down at your hand again and figured your ties to Slender must be fairly light considering the fact that your mark barely took up the back of your hand.

"You must be pretty close to Slender then." You mused, thinking back on the mark he bared that covered his stomach. He gave a dark chuckle at that.

"It doesn't necessarily mean we're close, darling. It just means in the end it would be harder for me to escape from him. It means he's got more influence over my soul." He informed you bitterly, clearly peeved over the fact. He stopped again and pointed to the double doors in front of you.

"That's the dining room where you'll find breakfast and the rest of the creeps." He then turned and went to stride away from the dining room and into another hallway.

"Will you not be joining us?" You asked him, a bit disappointed.

"Sorry, darling," he turned to you and gave a light smile, "I've already eaten, and I have a few important matters to attend to." He bid you adieu, and went on his way, leading you to go into the dining room and introduce yourself to a few of the other creeps you had yet to meet.

There were a few you definitely felt uneasy around, namely a second Jack, Laughing Jack you learned him to be, and the man accompanying him who you learned to be Jason. There were a few that you quickly grew accustomed to, however, especially Brian, who was quite worried about you and your sudden introduction. You tried to socialize with them and be friendly, but you couldn't help but think about what you'd signed yourself up for.

Smiley said that Slender had control over his soul- which obviously, means that he now has control over yours as well. Supposedly, it was a significantly smaller amount of control compared to Smiley, but how small was it in general? What was he capable of doing to you? Obviously, you wouldn't likely be able to escape him, and the thought of suddenly owing your soul to another being didn't sit right with you at all, although things seemed to be normal for the others, what would that mean for you over time? Could you just count on him to release you at some point? Most likely not. While things had been fine and dandy so far, you couldn't assume this would last, and you had to be tactical about all of this from here on out.

As you finished breakfast and were beginning to recenter your thoughts, you noticed one of the others at the end of the table had been staring at you with a conflicted expression for quite a while. Jeff, who was sitting to your right seemed to pick up on this.

"Don't view them differently because they're tied to me, Jane." He warned her cooly, sending her a look that seemed a bit too distraught to seem normal for the headstrong asshole he had shown himself to be. She chewed her lip for a moment and looked away.

"Well, so long as they prove to not commit the same actions you did, I won't have any problems with them." That statement seemed to confuse you, and after Jane excused herself, you excused yourself as well and went after her. The remaining residents shared conflicted looks, and most of their eyes landed on Jeff. He sighed out in irritation and pushed himself back from the table.

"They'd have to find out at some point." He grunted out, turning to follow the two of you. On your end, you had caught up to Jane, and hearing you approaching, she stopped and turned to look at you with an unreadable expression.

"Did you need something?" Her tone was even, but you could tell she probably already knew the answer to her own question.

"I just- I just wanted to know what you meant back there. About, ya know, Jeff's past actions." Her eyes were conflicted, but she nodded her head and allowed you into her room. She explained that this was her side of the story and that you shouldn't take it lightly, but instead you should confront Jeff at some point when he would allow you. 

She explained the incident that got him in the hospital, how he had an insanity break, and what he did to himself and his family. About how he had broken into her house, killed her parents, and set their house on fire before running away. How she ran into the fire to try and save her family, and how she suffered permanent scarring. She explained that she had wanted to kill him, seek revenge, but as they were both contracted with Slender now that she couldn't do that.

"Why couldn't you kill him?" You asked her in curiosity.

"Under Slender's contract residents are not allowed to harm each other. All of us are allies here, and we aren't allowed to be violent or cruel with each other." She explained, but you still felt somewhat sick about this whole situation now. It had never occurred to you that Jeff had done all of that to himself, his family, and hers. She sensed your hesitation and reached out to pat your arm.

"Don't think badly of him for it. We have had multiple conversations about this, and I know that he regrets what he did. This is just as hard for him as it is for me, so never look down on him for it." She talked with you for a few more moments, and then you excused yourself from her room. You, however, weren't expecting Jeff to be waiting just outside her bedroom door, staring down at you with quite the predatory expression resting on his face, and you were suddenly reminded of an important fact- you were residing in a house of killers.


	6. Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "He's smarter than he seems." A deep cockney accent mused from behind you, making you jump as you turned around to face it. That left you standing face to face with none other than Laughing Jack as you had come to know him.
> 
> "But then again, we're all quite intelligent in this house. After all, analyzing your prey is a basic necessity." He was smirking down at you, and the look within his eyes sent shivers down your spine as he towered above you. You struggled to find the words to respond to him, and simply nervously stared up at him, your mouth moving to try and form some sort of answer. He chuckled.
> 
> "Eh, well, what would I know. I'm just an old clown after all," he trudged past you and ruffled your hair as he went, "You don't have to fear us because of the contract but," you glanced up at him and saw he was watching you, "Be careful 'o Jeff. That one can be quite unpredictable." His words settled within your gut. His eyes showed concern but his demeanor showed amusement. Once again, you were reminded of the fact that you had to be careful around them, even if they weren't allowed to harm you, that didn't mean they wouldn't.

"Well?" He questioned you, eyes piercing into you as he leaned himself against the hallway wall.

"Well..?" You nervously questioned back, swallowing. You weren't sure how to navigate a conversation with him right now, not with the fact that you had just been reminded how cruel he could be. 

"Aren't ya gonna scream? Run away? Call me a disgusting psycho?" He seemed more upset than anything, as it was quite clear to you that was the treatment he was used to receiving from other people. You took in a nervous breath and closed your eyes.

"No. I'm not going to do that." Your tone was uneven, and when you opened your eyes to look up at him again he seemed to be analyzing you. He snorted and he turned to walk away from you.

"Get ready. We're going back to your place as soon as I'm done packing my shit." Was all that he had said as he left you there.

"He's smarter than he seems." A deep cockney accent mused from behind you, making you jump as you turned around to face it. That left you standing face to face with none other than Laughing Jack as you had come to know him.

"But then again, we're all quite intelligent in this house. After all, analyzing your prey is a basic necessity." He was smirking down at you, and the look within his eyes sent shivers down your spine as he towered above you. You struggled to find the words to respond to him, and simply nervously stared up at him, your mouth moving to try and form some sort of answer. He chuckled.

"Eh, well, what would I know. I'm just an old clown after all," he trudged past you and ruffled your hair as he went, "You don't have to fear us because of the contract but," you glanced up at him and saw he was watching you, "Be careful 'o Jeff. That one can be quite unpredictable." His words settled within your gut. His eyes showed concern but his demeanor showed amusement. Once again, you were reminded of the fact that you had to be careful around them, even if they weren't allowed to harm you, that didn't mean they wouldn't.

After your encounter with Jack, you had gone downstairs to find the other Jack and Smiley waiting for you. They had a few bags and containers packed up for you, which they explained had a bunch of medical supplies for you to use within them. They contained various medications that they all needed, and some basic rescue supplies like stitches and bandages if they got injured while they were out. They told you if you need help using a specific item they would show you how to do so, and you alerted them of all the items and techniques you were familiar with.

Following that, the other residents wished you goodbye and good luck. Tim informed you that Jeff and Toby had spent the morning moving his things into your spare bedroom back home and that he was already there waiting for you. He led you to the living room where BEN was waiting and stretching in front of the TV for you. 

"I don't know how much you remember from the first time we brought you through, but you probably won't enjoy this." He teased you with a smirk as he hoped halfway through the screen and reached his hand out for you to grab.

"Nothing bad is going to happen to me, right?" You questioned him nervously, shifting from foot to foot. He giggled at your reaction and shook his head, messy hair flopping over his eyes.

"Nah, you'll be fine. It's just a bit weird." You still felt a little suspicious, but you grabbed his hand anyway, and he pulled you forward with a surprising amount of strength. He was certainly right to call this weird. Your vision was soon surrounded by flashing bright lights, and your body felt somewhat... Wet? Slippery? You couldn't describe it, and before you had the time to think about it you were pulled out of another screen and into your living room. You noticed that unlike when BEN went through, the screen seemed to bend around you and it tried to resist letting you through.

"That's why ya gotta go through with me," he chimed in, noticing your realization, "If you aren't with me, or if I end up letting go of you, you'll end up trapped in there. Guess I should've mentioned that huh?" He winked at you and began waltzing around your house looking around. How fantastic. You could've gotten lost in some weird cyber-space and you didn't even know. What had you really gotten yourself into now?

. . .

You would soon come to learn that living with Jeff was... interesting to say the least. You tried to get along with your new forced roommate as best you could, but it was becoming extremely obvious to you that he had more walls that the empire state building surrounding his heart. You'd take one step forward and then he'd realize what was happening and you'd both go two steps back, as though he was afraid to allow anyone in.

When he was in front of you he was strong, an asshole, someone that didn't give a fuck about what others thought. But, you were coming to the slow realization he wasn't as invincible as he claimed he was. Jane's words of him regretting his actions continued to echo through your mind as you witnessed little things about him. 

How he would flinch away in fear whenever you had to use a lighter or a match. How he'd seem much more guarded whenever you brought out a container of bleach. He would stand away from you when you held a knife of any kind. You would never point out these little facts for fear of him hiding even further away from you. Although, they certainly weren't the worst of his issues.

It was the night terrors that really concerned you. You were always too scared to confront him before. It would be the early hours of the morning, and he would scream. He would scream and he would cry and he would sob. Some nights you heard smashing and banging. Some nights you heard weeping and pleading for an invisible force to leave him alone. You knew the basics of his past, but it was becoming obvious that what Jane had told you barely scratched the surface of his issues. You never brought up his night terrors, and you were wishing you had left it that way.

You had thought you were making progress, that he recognized you as an ally, maybe even a friend. Of course, you should have known that wouldn't apply during a vicious night terror. One night he had been howling particularly bad, and as you'd passed by his room on the way to get a glass of water you hesitated outside his doorway. You wished you had kept walking as he suddenly opened the door.

His eyes were animalistic and you could tell he wasn't all there as you froze before him. You wanted to speak to him, call out to him, do anything. But before you could, he had you pinned to the ground as he sat himself on top of you. He had his hands gripped around your neck much too tightly, and you tried to speak to him, to get anything out. He removed one hand and brought it back over you with his knife shining in his hands. As you silently wished for this to end you thought you'd have to resign yourself to your fate as he swung the knife down towards you, and you closed your eyes in submission for what was to come.


	7. Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "How the hell did this even happen to you?" He pulled out the med kit they had given you, and he rushed to sterilize your wounds, causing you to sob out at the unexpected rush of pain from the alcohol.
> 
> "Jeff was having a night terror." You eventually got out, and both of the boys looked at each other concerned.
> 
> "Don't punish him for this," you pleaded out, noticing the looks they shared, "It wasn't his fault! It was just an accident!" Jack sighed and licked his lips in thought. He seemed to hesitate before speaking out to you again.
> 
> "Well, it's not that simple. We have to tell Slender about all of our own acts of violence, so I'll have to report this incident to Slender. I'm sorry, but its how we do things, so do remember to keep this in mind for any future incidents, okay?" He patted your head in concern, and you agreed to his terms. He had you fill out a piece of paperwork, explaining the incident and how everything went down, and then after your ear was taken care of he and BEN returned back to the mansion for the evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Could've just been really funny and left y'all on that cliffhanger. Just been like "That's the story!"
> 
> Although! Now is the time to start paying attention to clues! There's gonna be a big ol' plot point coming up here soon!

You waited for what felt like hours with your eyes closed for the knife to strike you, but when you heard the splintering sound of your floor shattering next to you, you had almost jumped away from his grip in fear. You felt a sudden heat in your ear and noted that the knife had sliced the outer section on your ear on its way down. He had been aiming for your head, and you wondered why he missed, but glancing back up at him you found your answer.

His right hand still attached to the knife was trembling, his left hand clutched around your neck loosened a smidge, and his eyes were blown out in fear, no longer animalistic, but rather terrified from a force you didn't know. You weren't looking into the eyes of a heartless killer anymore. You were looking into the eyes of a scared little boy, a little boy that had to suffer through things nobody should ever have to experience. His body was heaving under the great force of his breathing, and drops of what seemed to be sweat began to fall from his body onto you, but as you focused on his eyes again you were shocked to notice there were tears falling onto you as well. He was crying, but out of shock, fear, regret, or sadness, you weren't sure. 

The two of you sat there like that for a few more moments, and then when he seemed to realize what was happening he jumped up away from you, knife ripping out with him, and he ran into his room, slamming the door behind him. Part of you wanted to go after him still, but after what had just occurred you knew better altogether. You rolled onto your stomach and tried to force yourself up, and into your room to get to your bathroom. 

You glanced into your mirror and the numb heat that was originally in your ear turned into a sharp stinging as you finally noticed what had truly happened. He had sliced through the outer part of your ear, driving his knife completely through your helix, which was now open and bleeding. You tried to think of a way to solve this but your lightheadedness was proving to affect you. Eventually, you remembered your phone, and after pressing a towel to your ear you dashed into your room to find it, and you dialed Jack as he alerted you he was nocturnal and would be awake overnight.

"Hello?" Came his questioning voice from the other end of the line, probably shocked to be called at this hour.

"Jack- Jack I, I need help... My ear is injured and I can't figure out how to fix it!" You didn't realize until you began speaking that you were openly weeping. Jack seemed immediately alerted now, and he assured you he'd be there in a moment, and, sure enough, you heard multiple pairs of footsteps charging towards you, and soon Jack and BEN were sliding into your room. Jack ushered you into your bathroom and hissed out when he saw the condition your ear was in.

"How the hell did this even happen to you?" He pulled out the med kit they had given you, and he rushed to sterilize your wounds, causing you to sob out at the unexpected rush of pain from the alcohol.

"Jeff was having a night terror." You eventually got out, and both of the boys looked at each other concerned.

"Don't punish him for this," you pleaded out, noticing the looks they shared, "It wasn't his fault! It was just an accident!" Jack sighed and licked his lips in thought. He seemed to hesitate before speaking out to you again.

"Well, it's not that simple. We have to tell Slender about all of our own acts of violence, so I'll have to report this incident to Slender. I'm sorry, but its how we do things, so do remember to keep this in mind for any future incidents, okay?" He patted your head in concern, and you agreed to his terms. He had you fill out a piece of paperwork, explaining the incident and how everything went down, and then after your ear was taken care of he and BEN returned back to the mansion for the evening.

The next morning when you woke up, Slender informed you that he had come over early and had a discussion with Jeff. They moved some of his workout equipment into your basement so that he could have a way to blow off some steam, and they discussed a few other ways for him to continue working on his night terrors, as he hadn't had them this frequently in a long time. Slender also had some people fix up the area of your floor that had been broken from Jeff's knife. 

The next time you saw Jeff, however, was a day later than your conversation with Slender. You were in the middle of making breakfast when he had nervously emerged from his room and sat himself down at your dining room table. Neither of you spoke for a few minutes, but when you filled up a plate of food and set it down in front of him he seemed to be considering what to say to you.

"I bet ya want me to explain myself for that, don't ya?" He seemed irritated, and you looked him over for a few moments before answering.

"No." You finally told him, before moving back to make your own breakfast.

"What?" he seemed shocked at your answer.

"No, I don't. It wouldn't be fair for me to force that out of you. You can tell me when you're ready, and when you trust me." He seemed to consider your words, and he simply nodded, before stuffing his face full of the food you had given him. Did you want to know what was keeping him up all night, destroying his mind in such a way? Yes. But was it right for you to force it out of him when he so clearly didn't even trust you? No. 

You ate your breakfast in peace, and then Jeff ended up leaving, saying he had business to take care of and that he wouldn't be back for a few hours. You told him that was fine and you went on with your own schedule. As you moved around your house, however, you couldn't help but feel as though you were being watched, but you dismissed it as nerves from what had been happening to you for the last few months. You couldn't have been more incorrect in that assumption.


	8. Cherry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You looked around behind you for a few more moments and yelped when you turned back around, jumping back at the sight of someone sitting in front of you on your table. She giggled, and you could see fanged teeth residing in her mouth.
> 
> "Aw, what's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" She teased, and you could see a long tail swishing behind her, and ears twitching on top of her head. 
> 
> "W-who are you?" You shuffled your chair back from the table, and she watched you go, a look of interest on her face. 
> 
> "Hmmm, you can call me Cherry," she winked at you, "But it would also be appropriate for you to call me your savior." You scoffed at that.
> 
> "Why the fuck would I call you my savior?" You eyed her suspiciously and she shot you a dark smile, leaning forward to rest on her knees. 
> 
> "Because, pumpkin, I'm here to point you in the right direction! Give you some important clues!" She winked at you and giggled again. 
> 
> "Important clues?" Your suspicion and confusion continued to grow by the minute, unsure of what she was alluding to.
> 
> "You see, there's a traitor in your midst." She smiled wide and revealed her sharp fangs to you again, tail swishing behind her in excitement.

The feeling of being watched seemed to persist for you for several more weeks. As you began trying to get closer to Jeff, you asked him if any of the others had come by and just not come inside, to which he said no.

"Why'd ya ask something like that?" He questioned you, busying himself with picking something out of his teeth with his tongue.

"No reason in particular," you shifted nervously in your seat, "It just feels like somethings been watching me recently." His eyes flickered to yours for a few moments with an unreadable emotion as he seemed to be studying you. He hummed in thought and leaned back in his seat.

"It could just be ya bein' paranoid because of what's been goin' on recently," you went to speak and he raised his hand, halting you, "But, if anything does happen and you live through it, I want you to tell me and I'll tell Slender to keep you safe. Okay?" You nodded at his statement and agreed that you would. After that, he bid you goodnight and left the house to do his night work.

You had promised him you'd tell him if something happened, but the thought of Slender knowing even more about you seemed to send shivers down your spine in an unpleasant way, and it had you squirming in your seat. You looked down at your pact mark and sighed. You had asked Jeff where his pact mark was out of curiosity one day, and you were shocked when he turned around and lifted his shirt, revealing a giant pact mark that spanned the entirety of his back. You didn't say anything further to each other about it, but Jeff seemed very upset about his pact mark, just like Smiley had been about his own, and of course, you couldn't blame him for it considering what that meant about it.

As you continued to stare down at your hand you heard a light giggle from behind you and whipped around to see behind you, but nobody was behind you. 

"It is an ugly marking, isn't it? Much too drab for someone like me." You heard a female voice let out. It wasn't a voice you recognized, and it was high and confident. You looked around behind you for a few more moments and yelped when you turned back around, jumping back at the sight of someone sitting in front of you on your table. She giggled, and you could see fanged teeth residing in her mouth.

"Aw, what's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" She teased, and you could see a long tail swishing behind her, and ears twitching on top of her head. 

"W-who are you?" You shuffled your chair back from the table, and she watched you go, a look of interest on her face. 

"Hmmm, you can call me Cherry," she winked at you, "But it would also be appropriate for you to call me your savior." You scoffed at that.

"Why the fuck would I call you my savior?" You eyed her suspiciously and she shot you a dark smile, leaning forward to rest on her knees. 

"Because, pumpkin, I'm here to point you in the right direction! Give you some important clues!" She winked at you and giggled again. 

"Important clues?" Your suspicion and confusion continued to grow by the minute, unsure of what she was alluding to.

"You see, there's a traitor in your midst." She smiled wide and revealed her sharp fangs to you again, tail swishing behind her in excitement. Your eyes went wide, and she laughed.

"A traitor...? But... Why would there be a traitor?" She gave you a pitying smile and finally stood from her spot on your table, walking over to you and gently stroking your hair. 

"Oh, pumpkin. People betray others for all different kinds of reasons. It's just how you play the game of life when you're playing to win. And, luckily for you, I want you to win!" She punched into the air and smiled at you, eyes closing in excitement.

"But why would you want me to win when you don't even know me?" You tilted your head to the side and looked at her quizzically, unsure if you could even trust her. She hummed, and her eyes began to glow. There were numbers dancing across her eyes, and when they settled, they settled on your birthdate.

"This is the day you were born, yes?" You nodded, "Well, I am meant to assist a person born on this date, and I was drawn to you! So, it's my job to help you! Although, of course, I can't give you all of the answers. You have to do some thinking yourself." She walked around you in a circle, tail wrapping around you as she went.

"So, is the fact that there's a traitor in my midst the only clue that I'm going to be receiving?" She hummed again and looked down at you with interest. 

"There are a few things I want you to think about," glittering letters appeared in the air, "There's a traitor in your midst, Jeff's sudden change in character overnight was no coincidence, and you should be careful of what you're ingesting." Those three statements lit up the air and you made sure to memorize them. 

So, someone was betraying you at the very least, if not the others. Jeff's overnight change in character was no coincidence? You pondered that one for a few moments and realized that must have been his night terrors, as Slender mentioned that his night terrors hadn't been this bad in a long time. Finally, be careful of what you're ingesting. You were most likely going to be poisoned in some way, you realized. That one could make sense, as the traitor might want to off you, so you'd stick to making your own meals with your own ingredients for a while. Cherry had been watching you in interest this whole time, and it seemed she was proud of you for figuring a few things out.

"Oh, one more thing before I forget!" She jumped up, and pointed at you, "You can't tell Jeff about anything I told you. Not until you have his full being." You looked at her confused, and she sighed dramatically, hunching herself over.

"Well, if he goes and tells Slender, and he warns the other's that there's a traitor, wouldn't the traitor then be aware that they've been discovered?" 

"Oh, yeah, I guess- I guess that does make sense, doesn't it?" You laughed awkwardly, and looked back up at her, "But what do you mean by his full being?" She smiled at you and came closer to you again. 

"You need his soul, his heart, and his mind." She pressed against your head and your heart as she was speaking.

"But how can I get his soul when that belongs to Slender?" She hummed at you.

"Well, it can be his metaphorical soul. Like, say, his trust, his loyalty, you know, that kind of stuff. Do I really have to spell it all out for you?" You pondered her words for a moment, and your face began to turn red.

"Do- do I really need to get his heart?" She laughed at your crumbled form.

"Come now, pumpkin, don't tell me you haven't noticed the changes in both of you over the last few months while he's been around you?" She brushed some hair out of your face, "The fact that the two of you are being drawn together."

You thought for a moment. It was true that you found him to be somewhat attractive, and Jeff had been spending much more time in your presence as well. 

"But, what if he doesn't like me that way?" She clicked her tongue at you in annoyance.

"Pumpkin, do you have any idea how relationships start? Do you like him?" You nodded. "Does he at the very least seem like he might be interested in you?" You nodded again after a few moments of hesitating. "Then, get to know him and see if it's possible that you two could work out. Talk to him, spend time with him, break down his walls!" She began to walk away from you and turned around again with a smile.

"When you can do that, you'll get your answers." She reached your door and you called out her name, and she turned to you again.

"Why does it have to be Jeff?" You asked her.

"Because he is the key to unraveling the traitor's plans, and putting you on the track to solving the problems." You went to speak again and she halted for a moment.

"What are you?" You questioned her one last time.

"I guess you could say I'm the demon equivalent of a fairy godmother." She blew you a kiss and wished you luck, and she began to slowly evaporate into the air. Her face looked like she was thinking about something, and she smiled a final time.

"Dearest pumpkin, it would also do you good to befriend he who comes from a box. He also holds some of the answers." And with that, she was gone. He who comes from a box? Well, that was certainly something else you'd have to ponder you supposed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drew a quick sketch of Cherry~


	9. The Notebook

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You'd better hope that you made the right choice in choosing them, Cherry. If they end up not being the right one, then all of us should start preparing for the worst."
> 
> "I'm well aware, sir. But they're already bonding with Jeff! When the two of them completely join forces, the plan will be set fully into motion. I have faith in them, sir." Her voice was strong and determined, and the voice simply sighed out at her.
> 
> "Well, Cherry, I hope you're right. For everyone's sake. Make sure to keep your eye on them."
> 
> "Yes, sir!"
> 
> "Do not let them be led astray, keep them on target."
> 
> "I will, sir!" The voice seemed pleased with her devotion and wished her good luck as the well returned to normal water, cutting the connection. Cherry took in a deep breath and prepared herself to be devoted to this mission. It would be the most important mission of her life, and she would see it through to the end no matter what.

After Cherry had left, you returned to your room for the night to think about all that she had told you. You decided to keep a notebook full of the information you'd gathered as to not forget anything or leave out any details, and as you turned to grab one from your bookshelf you'd found one you didn't recognize, and pulling it out you were a bit shocked at what it was. There was a big note on the cover that had 'Cherry' written on it with a heart next to it, and upon unfolding it you saw a message scrawled out in a fancy script.

_'Hey there, pumpkin! It's your special little fairy Cherry here to give you some assistance! Of course, I knew you would go to write this down so I figured I'd give you some more assistance! This notebook is special. When you open it, it will be completely blank. If you place a drop of your blood on the first page it will reveal itself to be a normal notebook! This notebook will then only be visible to you, and if anyone else opens it the notebook will be blank like it was for you, that way the traitor can't find out this information! Best of luck!'_

Best of luck, huh? You were a bit hesitant at first, but at this point, you were beyond caring if something bad happened. Pulling a thumbtack from your pinboard, you pressed it into the tip of your finger, wincing from the pain. As you opened the notebook and saw it was indeed blank, you pressed your finger to the center of the page, watching as it slowly turned red from your blood. After a few seconds, the pages began to glow a light golden color and the then red from your blood disappeared, replacing it with typically lined pages of a notebook.

You spent the next few hours writing down what you already knew and theorizing about any possible clues such as 'He who comes from a box', and what it was that you shouldn't ingest. After hearing the front door open and close, however, signaling that Jeff had returned home, you quickly shut your light off, and hid the notebook from sight, pretending to be in bed. You would have to gain his trust before he could start asking questions.

. . .

"You gave them the notebook, I presume?" A deep voice boomed out surrounding Cherry as she stared into the magical well.

"Yes, I gave them instructions for how to use it as well." She responded cheerily, and the voice acknowledged her.

"You'd better hope that you made the right choice in choosing them, Cherry. If they end up not being the right one, then all of us should start preparing for the worst."

"I'm well aware, sir. But they're already bonding with Jeff! When the two of them completely join forces, the plan will be set fully into motion. I have faith in them, sir." Her voice was strong and determined, and the voice simply sighed out at her.

"Well, Cherry, I hope you're right. For everyone's sake. Make sure to keep your eye on them."

"Yes, sir!"

"Do not let them be led astray, keep them on target."

"I will, sir!" The voice seemed pleased with her devotion and wished her good luck as the well returned to normal water, cutting the connection. Cherry took in a deep breath and prepared herself to be devoted to this mission. It would be the most important mission of her life, and she would see it through to the end no matter what.

. . .

You awoke in the morning more determined than you'd ever been before. You needed to start fully trying to connect with Jeff, and you wanted to do things right. You'd woken up early, and scampered down to the kitchen to start prepping breakfast, his favorite breakfast so far out of all that you've made, and you went ahead and got him out a glass of juice as well.

"Someone's a busy bee this morning." You shivered as you heard his deep voice come from behind you as he shuffled into the room and over to you to see what you were cooking. His morning voice always had this effect on you, and you tried not to let it show.

"Well, I just wanted to do you a favor and make you a big breakfast since you had a late night last night." He hummed at your response and took his glass of juice from you, leaning on the counter to watch you. His eyes ended up landing on your ear, and there was a deep look of sadness focused in his eyes.

"I'm sorry. For doing that." His apology made you halt your actions in shock, and you looked at him in confusion. Throughout all the months you'd known him, Jeff had never apologized to anyone for anything, let alone something he'd done to you.

"It's okay," you gave him a reassuring smile and pressed your fingers to your ear, "It's almost completely healed up now thanks to Jack, and there isn't any pain anymore." He hummed thoughtfully and nodded, moving from his spot next to you to go sit at the table.

"I was thinking," you began, bringing the food over to the table, "That we could do something together today." You settled down in front of him and smiled excitedly. He took a big bite of his meal and quirked an eyebrow at you.

"Why do ya wanna do something all of a sudden?" He didn't seem against the idea completely, so your determination remained.

"Well, we've already been living together for about five months now, and we haven't taken the time to do anything together yet! I just thought it would be fun to spend a day out!" He seemed to consider your answer for a moment, and he sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"Alright, sure. I don't have any work today so, I suppose it wouldn't hurt." He gave you a small smile, and your heart beat just a little bit faster, and your heart bubbled up from happiness at this small victory.

"Great! I figured we'd heat out sometime after breakfast so that we have time to get ready." He agreed with you, and the two of you continued to eat breakfast in peace, chatting a little bit about what you might do that day, and asking each other a few questions. After finishing eating you rushed to your room to get dressed and ready for the day, more excited than you had been in a very long time.


	10. Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I didn't know you could drive," You stated after a few moments of silence, turning to look at him as he focused on the road in front of him.
> 
> "Got my license down here a few years back. Just more convenient than walking everywhere." He responded, taking a turn and driving down a street much more populated than any of the others you'd been on. You couldn't help but look at the city in amazement. There were tall towering buildings with glass walls, short quaint ones painted in bright colors, stores lining the road on either side. The sidewalks and streets were thoroughly populated, filled with humans and demons alike. 
> 
> Some of the demons were almost human-like in appearance, with only a few differences to their bodies. Some of them looked like they'd come fresh out of a horror movie, unnerving in size and appearance. As you were surveying the various citizens your eyes landed on a few shorter demons, and you couldn't help but coo out at how adorable they were, and Jeff snorted.
> 
> "Yeah, they might look cute, but they're known for invading people's bodies and eating them from the inside out." He informed you, pulling into a grocery store parking lot as you shot him a look of horror and he smiled.

The two of you decided that Jeff would take you out today and show you around the Underworld as you hadn't had much of a chance to explore it besides being in the mansion and its surrounding area. Jeff offered to take over the grocery shift for Tim that day, so the two of you were currently on your way to a grocery store. 

"I didn't know you could drive," You stated after a few moments of silence, turning to look at him as he focused on the road in front of him.

"Got my license down here a few years back. Just more convenient than walking everywhere." He responded, taking a turn and driving down a street much more populated than any of the others you'd been on. You couldn't help but look at the city in amazement. There were tall towering buildings with glass walls, short quaint ones painted in bright colors, stores lining the road on either side. The sidewalks and streets were thoroughly populated, filled with humans and demons alike. 

Some of the demons were almost human-like in appearance, with only a few differences to their bodies. Some of them looked like they'd come fresh out of a horror movie, unnerving in size and appearance. As you were surveying the various citizens your eyes landed on a few shorter demons, and you couldn't help but coo out at how adorable they were, and Jeff snorted.

"Yeah, they might look cute, but they're known for invading people's bodies and eating them from the inside out." He informed you, pulling into a grocery store parking lot as you shot him a look of horror and he smiled.

"Are you fucking serious?" Your mouth was agape and you were beginning to hesitate on getting out of the car.

"Yup. Really dollface, ya shouldn't be shocked at that. After all, Jack himself already took a chomp out of ya." He chuckled, unbuckling his belt and getting out of the car, nodding at you to join him. With a sigh and a deep breath, you got out of the car and joined him as he strode away, jumping a bit as the car beeped from being locked. Jeff looked down at you as you looked around nervously, and he couldn't help but smile sweetly down at you, looking back up and facing forward before you could tell.

"You wanna push the cart or do you want me to?" He asked you, pulling a cart out of the cart rack and glancing towards you over his shoulder. 

"I don't really mind." You answered as you slid your phone into your pockets, but when you looked back at him to ask him a question he was sliding away from you riding on top of the cart.

"Jeff, wait!" You shouted out, trying to run after him, and he simply chuckled and gave himself another big push, riding the cart down into a new aisle. He finally skidded to a stop when he reached the first item on the shopping list, you skidding to a halt as well and slamming into his back. He sassily clicked his tongue and turned around to face you, his hand placed on his hip.

"Excuse me, but could you like totally pay attention to your surroundings? I mean for fucks sake, you aren't the only person here bitch." He was using a basic bitch tone as he sassed you, and you couldn't help but burst into laughter, him joining you and ruffling your hair. The two of you began to pick up the various items on the list, with Jeff occasionally riding away from you on the cart or mocking you and those around you.

"You know what we should totally do?" He asked you, placing a giant jar of pickles into the cart.

"Tell whoever wants these that they need to eat less pickles?" You questioned him, pointing at the jar. He scoffed and placed his hand on his chest.

"No, douchebag, these are MY pickles!" He playfully shoved you, and started pushing the cart towards the checkout line, "I was thinking we should drop this shit off and then go get some ice cream." You hummed in mock thought, and he sighed as he pointedly looked down at you.

"I suppose I wouldn't mind," you sassily shot back, "But I mean only on the condition that it isn't made from human beings." You skipped to catch up with him as he strode towards the only open checkout left.

"Hey, there are humans here too, and we aren't all cannibals." He teased, beginning to load all the groceries into the checkout.

"Not all of you?" You quirked a brow at him, handing him things to move quicker. 

"Well, I mean, you'll meet one every now and then, but they're actually much nicer people than you'd think." He shrugged, pulling out his wallet and greeting the cashier. 

"Oh, I'm sure. I'll have to take your word for it." You teased him, sticking your tongue out at him and he did the same as he handed the money to the cashier, thanking them and putting the bags into the cart. The two of you went out to the car and you helped him load a few of the groceries into the car when you heard someone shout out behind you, and as you turned you were shocked to see a head land at your feet, staring up at you in shock.

"Oops, sorry about that!" The head apologized, looking up at you and laughing as you stared down in surprise.

"Don't mind them," Jeff told the head, bending down to pick it up and hand it off to the approaching body, "They've never met a Dullahan before." Said Dullahan popped their head back onto their body and laughed again.

"It's fine, always good to see a new face. Anyways, thanks for the help!" They waved goodbye to the two of you and jogged back off to their friends. 

"A Dullahan, huh?" You questioned, watching as they left.

"Yep." He responded, closing the trunk and nodding at you to hop into the car.

"You'll find here that creatures of legend tend to be much more alive than humans tend to think. Great. That's not absolutely terrifying at all. 

Jeff continued to make small talk with you as you drove back to the mansion, and you couldn't help but genuinely enjoy all of the time the two of you spent together. You ended up going to a really nice ice cream shop with him, and the two of you agreed to go there together again. You returned home that night and both made dinner together and decided to rent a few movies to watch, most of with you both spent the entire time making fun of together. As you retired to your rooms for the night both of you felt oddly fulfilled at the day you'd spent together, and you were excited at the prospect of being able to spend more time together in the future.


	11. Gamer Goblin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You have the audacity to call me a simp AND drink my limited edition soda?!" Jeff smirked and took a swig, and then proceeded to burp and blow him a kiss.
> 
> "Only for you babe." BEN made fake vomiting sounds and the three of you chuckled as BEN threw a pillow at him.
> 
> "As if I'd ever date someone like you, you would be lucky to have my sweet gamer ass." BEN sassily flipped his bangs and went back to playing his game. 
> 
> "More like rank gamer ass. When's the last time you showered?" Jeff teased, leaning back and watching his game.
> 
> "This morning, thank you very much. I don't even smell today." He huffed, killing a boss in just a few hits and moving onto the next stage. You hummed and nodded in thought. 
> 
> "That is true, he actually smelled pretty fresh when he was all over me." You wiggled your brows at Jeff and he rolled his eyes in return.
> 
> "Probably only showered because he knew you'd be over here today." He jabbed, looking at BEN expectantly.

After your day out with Jeff, the two of you had been getting closer and closer to each other. Your once quiet house was now booming with laughter, the two of you making an effort to communicate with each other. You would certainly call each other friends at the very least, although the closer you became to Jeff, the more you kept hoping that it would continue to evolve into something more. As you grew closer to the others as well, they seemed to notice the spark between the two of you, as they all seemed to share looks between themselves whenever the two of you were together. 

It became a frequent event for you to go with Jeff when he hung out with the others, and they had all welcomed you with open arms. Today was no different as you and Jeff were getting ready to head over to the mansion for some gaming with BEN. As you both took your pills to be around Slender, a thought crossed the back of your mind, but it was immediately gone as you chugged it down with water. The two of you then met BEN at your TV and allowed him to pull you both through the screen.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that, and I'm not sure I want to." You stated, flopping down into a beanbag next to BEN in his room.

"Aww, you wound me, I bring you here for free, I send you home for free, and you can't even enjoy the ride?" He leaned onto you, snuggling up and pouting.

"Who would wanna be grateful to a simp like you?" Jeff teased, grabbing a soda from BEN's mini-fridge and plopping down on your other side. BEN scoffed and glared at him from his curled up spot in your side.

"You have the audacity to call me a simp AND drink my limited edition soda?!" Jeff smirked and took a swig, and then proceeded to burp and blow him a kiss.

"Only for you babe." BEN made fake vomiting sounds and the three of you chuckled as BEN threw a pillow at him.

"As if I'd ever date someone like you, you would be lucky to have my sweet gamer ass." BEN sassily flipped his bangs and went back to playing his game. 

"More like rank gamer ass. When's the last time you showered?" Jeff teased, leaning back and watching his game.

"This morning, thank you very much. I don't even smell today." He huffed, killing a boss in just a few hits and moving onto the next stage. You hummed and nodded in thought. 

"That is true, he actually smelled pretty fresh when he was all over me." You wiggled your brows at Jeff and he rolled his eyes in return.

"Probably only showered because he knew you'd be over here today." He jabbed, looking at BEN expectantly.

"I mean, that is partly true," he narrowed his eyes and paused, focusing on a task, "Of course I'd wanna be fresh when I have guests coming over. But even I can only handle so much ick." Jeff and you chuckled at that, and you looked at BEN in surprise.

"I'm shocked you have the standards for that considering you're a self-proclaimed gaming goblin." You jested, poking at his sides with your toes, trying to distract him with his ticklish nature.

"Hey, that isn't fair," he shouted, scooching across the floor away from you, "That's cheating!" He turned to glare at you and stick his tongue out before focusing back on the screen. Jeff seemed to be watching the two of you interact, and he had a conflicted expression on his face, almost as if he was slightly irritated. When you looked at him in confusion he simply shrugged the matter off as him being lost in his thoughts. 

The three of you continued to joke around and eat food for the next few hours, unaware of the person watching you from the shadows. The figure watched for a while, considering its options before retreating off elsewhere, back to your house rather than risking confronting you in person. It wasn't until you returned home that night to find another signed not upon your desk signed Cherry that you knew you had been monitored at all.

_'Hello there, pumpkin! I must say you have already slightly started to stray from your path. While you are getting closer to Jeff it seems you've forgotten one of the rules, to be careful of what you ingest! You've already taken in something you shouldn't have, and your mind will pay the consequences. Do not stray from the path, stay observant, and don't trust too easily.'_

As if fate was waiting to chime in, your head throbbed painfully and you had horrible flashes of imagery going through your mind after recalling the fact that there was a traitor amongst you all. You wondered if this pain was what Jeff had experienced during the night. You grabbed your notebook from your drawer and made a list of all the things you had taken in, ranging from BEN's snacks, and a few treats the other creeps had given you all. While they all seemed friendly, it was true that one of them was secretly against the rest of you. Even BEN himself wasn't out of the question as a possible candidate. 

You thought through the last few months and decided to keep a chart about the new friends you'd come to make and you decided to write down a chart for their behaviors, normal and suspicious, to keep track of what had been happening. The thought crossed your mind that Jeff might end up on the list, but then you could hear Cherry's voice in the back of your mind reminding you that Jeff would be on your side. You knew you had to trust him, and you hoped he would trust you too. After all, you were about to turn him against one of his believed allies. 

You finished up your chart, looking over it to see if you missed anything, and began to make plans for the future. You didn't want to come off weird by suddenly refusing any and all food from them, but on the other hand, you needed to be careful with what you were taking in. As you slid the notebook back into its spot in your drawer you were about to go to bed when suddenly, there was a loud banging on your back door. As you darted out to your kitchen, you certainly weren't prepared for the bloody mess that would be waiting for you.


	12. A Team

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "So, then, we should avoid telling them right?" You questioned, "I feel like even though we aren't suspicious of Slender, it would still be best to keep this from him. Like Cherry told me, if he mentions anything about it to the others that could alert the traitor." They all agreed with you. Jeff and BEN looked confused at the mentioning of Cherry, however, and you explained who she was.
> 
> "We're a team now," Jeff's words drew all of your attention to him, "We need to trust each other. We cannot break each other's trust at this point. If you notice anything, we need to share it amongst ourselves, and we need to figure out exactly what this medicine is doing to us." All of you promised to hold that up.
> 
> "So, are we going to tell anyone else?" BEN asked, nervously glancing around.
> 
> "I think for now it's best to keep it between us five. We can't risk accidentally telling the traitor or having them tell the traitor. After all, even though we think we have possibilities, it could be anyone." You replied, and you all felt a bit uneasy as your words echoed in your heads. It could be anyone. Nobody except for you in this room were able to be counted out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the longest and most important chapter so far~

Before your eyes on your back porch was Jane, in a crumpled, bloody heap, and Laughing Jack, supporting her and looking around panicked. You quickly darted over and slid your door open, inviting the two of them inside.

"What the fuck happened to her?" You questioned Jack, guiding her to your bathroom. 

"Uh, well, I suppose you could say that depends, hehe.." He was nervous, which was unusual because Jack was never nervous, and he never let his emotions show.

"Depends on what?!" You yelled at him panicked, helping him lay out Jane on the floor. She held up her hand and looked at you, the calm in her eyes helping to calm you as well. 

"It's not as bad as it looks," she started before swallowing, "And I'm going to ask you a question, and you just need to be truthful with me." Her statement made your blood freeze in your veins, and the room felt much cooler than it had before. You simply nodded at her words, maintaining eye contact to try and calm your nerves. 

"Have you met Cherry yet?" Your heart stopped beating for a moment and you froze in confusion at her question.

"How- Why- why do you know Cherry?" The tension dissolved from the two of them and they seemed much easier going after your statement.

"She contacted me a few days ago to alert me of your situation." Jack chimed in, helping Jane take off her clothes to expose her wounds to you. A large gash across her stomach that was bleeding profusely, bruises peppering all of her skin, and scratches covering the rest of her torso.

"But why would she contact you?" You were extremely nervous now, and as you grabbed a towel and pressed it to Jane's wound to try and slow the blood flow causing her to hiss out in pain, you looked at him with panic in your eyes.

"He's the one that comes from a box," Jane informed you, groaning out as she laid her head back, trying to block out the pain. You considered her words for a moment and it clicked in your brain.

"Laughing Jack-in-a-box." You stated, glancing up at him and he confirmed your words with a nod. 

"But how does that explain this? And why are you guys coming forward with this information now?" You stood from your kneeling position and grabbed your medical supplies, getting to work on Jane's wounds. 

"Because someone targeted Jane," Jack explained, helping you best he could, "I told Jane what I knew, and then next thing I know someone's targetting her. They thought they'd left her for dead and told her they were doing this because she learned things she shouldn't know about." 

"So, the traitor is keeping tabs on you guys and sending out assassins now?" You questioned, trying to control your breathing and focus.

"Seems that way," Jane chimed in, moving to look at you, "It's possible they overheard when Jack confided in me." She laid her head back down and sighed out in pain.

"What did you tell her exactly?" Jack seemed nervous to tell another person, and you reached out to touch him, resting your hand on his arm and his eyes snapped towards yours.

"Its okay Jack, I'm already aware of a bit of info already, remember?" He studied you for a moment and then sighed in defeat.

"I'm not concrete on what it is exactly, but all of you are being controlled." Being controlled? But how?

"What do you mean we're being controlled?" Came a voice from behind you, and the three of you turned to see Jeff standing in the doorway. Shit. You had completely forgotten that he was home, and didn't take him into account for this. The three of you looked between yourself confused, and then you heard a voice in the back of your head.

 _"Tell him! Everything will be okay!"_ Cherry whispered into your mind, and not having any other options, you looked to Jeff and swallowed.

"Someone is a traitor amongst all of us." You stated, and he studied you for a moment before walking over and sitting beside all of you.

"I thought so. Looks like you beat me to it again didn't you, Jane? Always the first to discover new leads." He sounded a little bitter, but you were a bit shocked at how he processed this.

"This isn't a new lead at work, asshat." Her words had venom but her eyes betrayed her tone. She was too overcome with worry.

"How are you just accepting this?" You loudly questioned him, disbelief written all over your face. He ran a hand through his hair and licked his lips, thinking for a moment.

"I thought that something had seemed off recently, especially when I started having night terrors. At first, if I'm being honest, I thought it was you, but that was fairly easy to disprove. Slender has seemed on edge recently so I wouldn't be surprised if he's onto something too." All of you looked between each other nervously, but none of you spoke for a few moments as you finished stitching Jane up. 

"Okay, so," you began, looking at Jeff, "What changed when you started having more night terrors? What were you doing differently?" He pondered your words, and you helped Jane lean against the wall so she could be sitting up.

"Well, I mean other than eating and sleeping here-," he hesitated, "I stopped taking the pills." All of you came to the same realization as you looked at him.

"The traitor must be tampering with the pills then," Jane stated. The pills could make sense and you were a bit disappointed you didn't realize sooner. Cherry told you to be careful about what you ingest, and while you thought it might be food, it is true that you were ingesting the pills.

"I thought that might be it," piped up Jack, rubbing his neck and looking away, "I don't have to take the pills because Slender has no effect on me, and I've noticed that sometimes you all act completely different on and off the pills." Jane reached up and rubbed his arm affectionately.

"So what are we going to do?" You questioned, and everyone seemed to be thinking for a moment. 

"Well, what else can we do, but stop taking them?" 

"But then how will we be around Slender?"

"What about the others?"

"How do we know how the drugs are being tampered with?" The three of them continued to bicker back and forth while you were lost in thought trying to figure out what to do.

"I know what we can do." A fifth voice sounded out, and all of you froze. BEN fizzled out of your ceiling light and landed in the middle of the room. All of you seemed shocked, and he raised up his hands in defense.

"I was waiting for someone else to say something," he was looking around nervously before his eyes landed on you, "I came to the same conclusion Jack did, about us acting differently on and off the pills. I wanted to stop taking them but I didn't wanna go in alone." 

"How do we know we can trust you? How do we know we can trust each other?" Your question suddenly had everyone one edge again, and BEN raised his arms again.

"That's what I was going to say. I was looking through some dark stuff hidden in the back of the library the other day," He started, pulling out a glowing crystal from his pocket, "And I learned a spell that will tell us if we're lying or not."

"Are you actually shitting me?" Jane snapped out, suspicious at this new discovery BEN had brought up.

"I mean, do we have any other options?" You had a point, and so she sighed in irritation and looked at BEN pointedly.

"Okay then, how does your magical glowing crystal work?"

"When we all prick a finger and press it to the crystal it'll link us together. If one of us lies, we'll be able to tell." You all seemed a bit skeptical of it, even BEN himself, but at this point, none of you had any better ideas. You pulled needles out of your medical kit, and you all pricked your fingers, blood bubbling out of them. After you all poked the crystal at the same time, a flood of blue light shot up all of your arms and up towards your heads. You all reared back in shock and the crystal dulled, as the light had faded into all of you.

"So... How do we know this worked?" Jeff asked, and all of you looked between yourselves. You spoke up first.

"I'm not wearing any underwear." After your lie, everyone opened their eyes in shock and you looked between them confused. 

"Our vision went red for a moment when you said that," Jane informed you, and she hummed.

"My favorite color is purple." And your vision flashed red at her own lie.

"That's so weird. What's your actual favorite color?" You questioned.

"My real favorite color is teal." She stated, and all of you saw a shining white like the color of the crystal. 

"I am not the traitor." Jack eventually said, and you all saw white, getting his drift. You all said the same sentence, and it flashed white for all of you. 

"Although," BEN drew your attention toward himself, "you should know that it only works on statements you know are absolutely true or false. For example, Natalie is the traitor," Nothing happened to your vision at his statement, "See? I have no proof that she is the traitor, and therefore it doesn't work." The five of you made sure to remember that for future reference.

"I guess we know we can trust each other. But now we have to figure out how to go about this with the others." The five of you sat in silence for a moment, and you thought amongst yourselves.

"Okay," you began, and they all looked at you, "So we know it has something to do with the pills. Who comes in contact with those?"

"Slender orders them, Smiley and EJ handle them, and sometimes the proxies help out with them," Jane answered you, and you tilted your head in confusion.

"The proxies?"

"Ah, Tim, Toby, and Brian." She cleared up for you, and you nodded.

"So it's likely amongst them. Slender doesn't have anything to gain from doing that, so it's most likely to be one of the others." You all agreed with that statement and thought amongst yourselves yet again.

"So, then, we should avoid telling them right?" You questioned, "I feel like even though we aren't suspicious of Slender, it would still be best to keep this from him. Like Cherry told me, if he mentions anything about it to the others that could alert the traitor." They all agreed with you. Jeff and BEN looked confused at the mentioning of Cherry, however, and you explained who she was.

"We're a team now," Jeff's words drew all of your attention to him, "We need to trust each other. We cannot break each other's trust at this point. If you notice anything, we need to share it amongst ourselves, and we need to figure out exactly what this medicine is doing to us." All of you promised to hold that up.

"So, are we going to tell anyone else?" BEN asked, nervously glancing around.

"I think for now it's best to keep it between us five. We can't risk accidentally telling the traitor or having them tell the traitor. After all, even though we think we have possibilities, it could be anyone." You replied, and you all felt a bit uneasy as your words echoed in your heads. It could be anyone. Nobody except for you in this room were able to be counted out.

"So none of us are going to be taking the pills though, right? How are we gonna be around Slender?" Jeff questioned, and his question hit all of you like a ton of bricks.

"That... Is a good point." You nervously thought about how to go about this. Jack cleared his throat, and you all turned to him curiously. 

"We can use these," he lifted his hands to reveal pill-shaped candies resting in them, wrapped up in brightly colored plastic, "They're magic candies I got my hands on. They do the same basic functions as the pills without doing anything harmful." He stated, and your vision flashed white, showing he was telling the truth. 

"We'll all take these then," Jane began, "and we will keep in touch. We'll meet up here if we make a new discovery. Our first mission is to find out what the pills are doing to us, okay?" All of you agreed, and after being on the same page, you were all determined and ready to do this. What you were doing would be dangerous, and while you would be betraying the trust of others yourselves, you knew you needed to do this. You would find the traitor, and you would protect the others. Even if it was the last thing you did.


	13. Gathering Evidence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Actually, I'm not alone." You informed him, scooching farther away from him on your stool.
> 
> "Oh? Then where is this mysterious person, huh? Leaving you all alone. I certainly wouldn't leave you alone, and I'm sure I'd be much more fun to be with." He leaned closer to you and you swallowed nervously.
> 
> "I told you, I'm already with someone, and I'm not interested." Your voice was firm but your heart was racing at your nervousness. 
> 
> "But there isn-" The person went to insist again, but they were interrupted by someone forcing their way between you two.
> 
> "I believe they said they were already with someone, jackass. Take the hint and get fucking lost." Jeff had finally returned, and you had never been so excited to see him. 
> 
> "And who the fuck are you?" The man spat out, his true behavior finally showing.
> 
> "I'm their boyfriend, asshole. Who the fuck are YOU?" Jeff's voice was loud and commanding, and if it weren't for the fact that you were focused on the fact that he called himself your boyfriend, you would've found yourself getting intimidated as well.

Over the last month, all of you had worked on trying to find any new hints to your cause while being subtle about it. You had all stopped taking the pills Slender continued to provide to everyone, and instead settled for taking Jack's candy, which, as he stated, worked the same wonders for being around Slender as the pills did. None of you had experienced any side effects, although both BEN and Jeff had begun experiencing their night terrors, and Jane had started having nightmares, which all of you feared would progress to night terrors at this rate. 

BEN had sent out a message to all of you to meet up this evening, as apparently, he had some developmental clues, and Jane stated she had some as well. You were currently finishing up making some food for everyone while Jeff kept a lookout for anyone else that shouldn't be there. Just as you had finished setting the table, they had all warped into the room thanks to Jack, and upon seeing them, Jeff came back inside. 

"So, BEN, what did you find out?" Jane questioned, taking a seat next to you and looking at him with interest.

"Well, it's interesting that you would ask Jane because it actually has to do with you." That piqued all of your interests, and BEN sat up, leaning onto the table.

"So, you and Jack had mentioned an assassin had gone after you, so I went through the assassin network in the Underworld, and I found something interesting. There was an assassin purchased from Slender's account, and not only does Slender have access to that account, but all of the proxies, Natalie, EJ, Smiley, and Helen also have access to that account. They have all used the account at some point, so that also provides more fuel to them being the traitor." 

You all thought about his words for a moment, and while that was certainly helpful, that didn't necessarily narrow down the search that much. In fact, it added more candidates to who the traitor could be.

"Jane, didn't ya say you also saw something of interest the other day?" Jeff spoke up, nodding at her from your other side. 

"That I did," she began with a sigh, "I was monitoring the med lab the other day, and I watched various people go in and out of the room. Smiley, Toby, and Tim all entered the lab late at night, and all of them did something with pills, although I wasn't able to verify which medications they were messing with, and they could have just simply been refilling their bottles." You hummed in thought.

"Could it also be possible that there are people working together?" You questioned, thinking over the evidence so far.

"I'm not too sure about that. I think it's just the one traitor, as that's what Cherry told both you and me." Jack replied, brows knitted in thought. 

"So if we assume the traitor has access to the medical lab and Slender's network account, that leaves us with the proxies and EJ, doesn't it?" 

"But, it could also be possible that they went into the med lab when I didn't see them," Jane added in, "As we do all have clearance for the med lab. Which means it could also be Smiley, Helen, or Natalie as well."

"I suppose it comes down to what kind of motivation they might have, then. But why would any of them want us to be controlled?" BEN asked, head tipped to the side as he tried to think it over.

"Maybe it's not that the pills are controlling us, but changing something inside of us." Your point brought their attention back to you, "We still don't know exactly what is in the pills, so there's no saying for sure that we're being controlled per se." 

"BEN, is there any way you can find out what's being ordered in terms of pills?" Jane questioned, and he sighed and shook his head.

"Unfortunately, no. I tried looking it up but it turns out he does mail-in orders for the pills, so there's no electric data I can see for it." 

"So, do you think if we get ahold of the orders, that then we can see what he's got listed?" Your question had everyone else in the room immediately on edge. 

"What? What's wrong with that idea?" You nervously asked.

"That would require sneaking into Slender's office and getting into his files, which, if you get caught doing, could very well get you in a shit ton of trouble if not killed." Jeff filled you in.

"Yeah, the dude's extremely strict about all of his stuff, he doesn't let anyone see anything." BEN's statement made his eyes go wide, and you all seemed to get the same feeling at the same time. 

"We'll just have to take that risk, won't we?" Jane chimed in.

"But who is going to do that? And how are they going to do that without getting caught?" Jack asked, looking over you all.

"I'll do it." You spoke confidently, and there was determination written all over your face. "I have the least to lose from doing it. I'll take the risk." 

"I'm going with you. We'll go when Slender leaves for his next meeting." Jeff stated, and you all agreed that you were willing to take the risk. You and Jeff would sneak into his office, and the other three would keep the other residents away from his office. You all ended the meeting there, and after the other's left, Jeff said he wanted to talk to you. 

"I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go out for a bit tonight? Just get a bit of happiness in?" Jeff had been taking you out to a bar down the street every now and then recently, and wanting a change of pace you agreed.

. . .

You had both frequently become regulars at the bar. It had a nice atmosphere, and you both found it a bit ironic when you'd first come. Jeff had invited you thinking you drank alcohol and would enjoy it, and you agreed thinking that he drank alcohol and would enjoy it. Turns out neither of you drank alcohol and found it a bit funny when you both ordered virgin drinks. Jeff guided you through the crowd back to your regular seats at the bar top and ordered you two your drinks. 

"Oh, I could have paid!" You assured him reaching for your wallet, but he lifted his hand and smiled.

"I got it tonight, my treat." He told you, pulling out his own wallet and paying the bartender. The two of you took a few sips and took the time to just talk to each other, to try and get a sense of normalcy again. 

"So I walk into the room," Jeff wheezed out between laughs, "And he's fucking stuck to the wall." You burst out laughing at that yourself. 

"Why was he on the wall?" You questioned, wiping tears from your eyes.

"He said he wanted to 'be one with the mansion' so he fucking covered himself in glue and tape and stuck himself up there." You were both finding it hard to breathe, and you yourself could definitely see the sight of Toby getting bored and gluing himself to a wall.

"Honestly that's a whole ass fucking mood." You wheezed out, wiping your remaining tears from your eyes, smiling at Jeff, and you felt your heart stop at the smile he showed you. It was just so beautiful and genuine and you had never seen him smile like that before. He cleared his throat and sat up to stretch, chewing his lip and looking away.

"I'm gonna go take a leak, I'll be back." He excused himself, and you hummed, returning to focusing on your drink. A few moments after Jeff had left, unfortunately for you, a man had come over and sat himself next to you.

"Hey, cutie, what're you doing here all alone?" His voice was smooth and flirty and you were on guard immediately.

"Actually, I'm not alone." You informed him, scooching farther away from him on your stool.

"Oh? Then where is this mysterious person, huh? Leaving you all alone. I certainly wouldn't leave you alone, and I'm sure I'd be much more fun to be with." He leaned closer to you and you swallowed nervously.

"I told you, I'm already with someone, and I'm not interested." Your voice was firm but your heart was racing at your nervousness. 

"But there isn-" The person went to insist again, but they were interrupted by someone forcing their way between you two.

"I believe they said they were already with someone, jackass. Take the hint and get fucking lost." Jeff had finally returned, and you had never been so excited to see him. 

"And who the fuck are you?" The man spat out, his true behavior finally showing.

"I'm their boyfriend, asshole. Who the fuck are YOU?" Jeff's voice was loud and commanding, and if it weren't for the fact that you were focused on the fact that he called himself your boyfriend, you would've found yourself getting intimidated as well. After that, the guy had finally gotten the hint and left, and Jeff immediately turned to you concerned, asking if you were okay and if he had touched you at all.

"No, I'm okay, I'm okay I promise," you assured him, placing your hands on his arms close to where he was worriedly gripping you, "But my boyfriend, huh?" You nervously chuckled, but your heart was fluttering at having said that statement. 

"Oh, shit, yeah, sorry, I uh-" He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and averted his eyes, and his cheeks and ears were lightly blooming into red.

"Don't apologize." You told him with a shy smile, and he chuckled nervously.

"I was uh- I was actually going to ask you out tonight. I had gone to the bathroom to psych myself up and then when I came back and I saw that guy I just wanted to step in and protect you so I kinda jumped the gun there." He was rambling nervously, and your heart warmed at the sight of him being a little flustered.

"Well, I would be fine, you know, if you kept calling yourself my boyfriend." You told him in a teasing tone, leaning further into him with a giggle as his arms encircled you more.

"Really? Like you- you actually wanna date me?" He got so boyishly excited and you couldn't help but laugh at him. You nodded at him and he smiled. Timidly, you pressed your hands to his face and pulled him down for a kiss, and as you tenderly pressed your lips to his you couldn't help sigh out. You had pictured how kissing Jeff might be several times, but this far exceeded all of those expectations. 

While the two of you bask in the afterglow of your new relationship, you were both soon coming down from your high. It had almost been a year since your first meeting, and while you wanted your time together to continue, you both knew you would have to remain focused on the task at hand. After all, none of you could have expected what was coming next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yaaaaay they're finally a couple!
> 
> ALRIGHT, MY DUDES!
> 
> From here on out the story will follow Jeff and MC as they try to make their relationship work through this struggle.
> 
> TOMORROW! THE TRAITOR WILL BE REVEALED! The characters will have to do their best to not let the traitor know they're onto them, and try and get the other creeps on their side. I know all of you will probably be shocked at the traitor, but I've had this plan since the very beginning, and I hope the motivations of the traitor come off clearly.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it and thank you so much for supporting this story.
> 
> Much love <3


	14. The Traitor Is...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two of you crept quietly over to his desk and looked upon the many drawers attached to it, which, luckily for you, were all labeled nicely and neatly. Just as you went to pull open a drawer, the door to Slender's office began to shake, and Jeff quickly pulled you underneath the desk, hiding your form with his own and warning you to be quiet. As the door slid open, the sound of lighthearted humming filled the room. Toby had walked in. He shuffled over to one of the many shelves lining the walls and seemed to be looking for something upon them. 
> 
> Jeff squished your body closer to his under the cramped opening in the desk, and while in any other circumstances this would have made your heart race from excitement, right now it just served to worry you about the current circumstances. You could feel his heartbeat from where it was pressing against your back, and with that combined with the worried look on his face, you could tell he himself was extremely nervous. Toby's footsteps kept walking closer and closer to where the two of you were nestled up, and just as he was about to cross the barrier-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoy this and understand what I was going for.

Two weeks later, and it was finally the fated morning that Slender would be leaving the mansion. You and Jeff woke early to begin preparing for what was to happen that day. BEN had alerted you that Slender was going to leave around 8 AM for his meeting and that he wouldn't be returning until 12 PM on the dot, so that would give you guys plenty of time to sneak in. There would be no video cameras or audio surveillance to worry about, but instead, it would be the other residents walking in on you and catching you. 

Jack, Jane, and BEN were all on lookout duty for keeping anyone else away from Slender's office. BEN already made plans with several to play some games together, Jack would be invisible and patrolling around the lower floors, and Jane would be moving around the upper floors. You and Jeff were currently sneaking your way upstairs to the top floor of the mansion, where his office resided. Jeff signaled for you to be quiet while he checked the door, and you were both shocked to find it unlocked.

"Well, that was easy." He whispered, peering around the edge of the door to find the office empty. He quietly slid the door open and beckoned you to follow him in. It certainly wasn't the most welcoming office you had ever been inside. Even with the curtains open, letting in sunlight, the office was dark and commanding. It seemed every item residing within the walls was a deep black, and just as BEN said, there wasn't a single electronic device in sight save for a desktop computer resting on his desk. Both you and Jeff had promised to not speak while in there to avoid any possible tracking of the two of you.

The two of you crept quietly over to his desk and looked upon the many drawers attached to it, which, luckily for you, were all labeled nicely and neatly. Just as you went to pull open a drawer, the door to Slender's office began to shake, and Jeff quickly pulled you underneath the desk, hiding your form with his own and warning you to be quiet. As the door slid open, the sound of lighthearted humming filled the room. Toby had walked in. He shuffled over to one of the many shelves lining the walls and seemed to be looking for something upon them. 

Jeff squished your body closer to his under the cramped opening in the desk, and while in any other circumstances this would have made your heart race from excitement, right now it just served to worry you about the current circumstances. You could feel his heartbeat from where it was pressing against your back, and with that combined with the worried look on his face, you could tell he himself was extremely nervous. Toby's footsteps kept walking closer and closer to where the two of you were nestled up, and just as he was about to cross the barrier-

"Hey, Toby! Can you help me find something? I lost one of my jackets! The one you helped me pick out yesterday!" Jane shouted out from down the hall. You both heard Toby quickly turn around and make for the door.

"Yep! C-coming!" He shouted back, whipping around the corner and slamming the door behind him. As soon as you could no longer hear his footsteps you both breathed out a sigh of relief and shuffled out from under the desk. Not wanting to waste time and get caught again, you quickly tugged open the "Medical Order" drawer and pulled out the most recent files. You just quickly took photos of them with your phone and sent them to BEN, before putting them back in correctly and rushing out of the room. You knew you'd both definitely need to repay Jane for her efforts later that night.

. . .

As you all settled into your kitchen for another meeting, you could all feel the tension in the air. BEN and Jeff particularly seemed quite nervous.

"So, I looked over the medicine forms you sent me... And I have some bad news." BEN informed you all, handing you a piece of paper. Your eyes skimmed over them and your heart dropped when you read the listed drugs.

"What? What is it?" Jane questioned, shifting nervously in her seat.

"The drugs aren't being tampered with. They're already being ordered this way," You looked up to face the others sadly, "They aren't just for help dealing with Slender. That's not even the main purpose. He's giving us memory suppressants." 

"Memory suppressants? Why the fuck would he be doing that?" Jane ripped the paper out of your hands and skimmed over it just as you had.

"Actually, about that... BEN and I had been talking in secret for a little while, and now this confirms our suspicions." All of you looked at Jeff as he spoke up.

"When we were having out night terrors," BEN chimed in, "We kept seeing someone there. At first, we thought it was just our dreams, but the longer we've been off the drugs, the more obvious it's become that these aren't just night terrors, but memories. Slender is suppressing our memories because he's the one that caused us to have our incidents. He pulled me under the lake and drowned me, and he messed with Jeff's emotional state and triggered him into killing his family." The room was silent, and everyone within the room felt sick. 

"But that- that doesn't make any sense. Why would he torture us like that and then make us forget it?" Jane looked like she was on the verge of tears and anger, and you couldn't blame her.

"It makes perfect sense," Jack stated, finally speaking up. "He's always going on and on about wanting a perfect family. So, of course, if you have those unpleasant memories of him our family would be anything but perfect. There wouldn't be any love or trust."

"That would also explain my headaches," you added in, "I would get horrible headaches after taking them. The drugs were trying to suppress memories I didn't have."

"But that can't be true." Jane's dam finally broke, and tears began to stream down her face.

"It fits perfectly within the evidence," you began, "He orders the memory suppressants the way they are which wipes out the need for tampering. He keeps all of you on daily dosages claiming you have to take those pills for him when really it's so that you don't have to remember the memories from your pasts. He lines up with the assassin because obviously, it was HIS account." He fit the traitor perfectly.

"He had access to the pills and his own social network. Nobody would suspect him because it didn't seem like he'd have motivation so of course, we never even considered him. But because you guys are now regaining your memories, it's become quite clear."

"No! It can't be true!" Jane shouted out, her head resting in her hands as she violently sobbed out.

"Jane, surely you've gotten some memories back too." Jack quietly cooed, rubbing her back soothingly.

"I just-," she choked on a sob, "I wanted to believe they were just nightmares!" She screamed out. As she finally started to calm down a little, you all heard clapping and turned to see someone resting on your counter.

"Cherry.." She smiled at you.

"Hey there, pumpkin! Look at you, solving mysteries!" She applauded you again and you couldn't help but feel sick over the fact that you were right.

"He- he can't really be the traitor can he?" Jane asked, and Cherry smiled pitifully at her. 

"Why don't you say so and find out?" All of you looked between each other nervously. Finally, you spoke up.

"Slender is the traitor." All of you saw white, signifying that you were telling truth. It seemed the realization hit everyone in the room at once, and everyone began to cry. 

"So- everything was just a lie? A big fucking lie!?" Jane shouted out. Before anyone else could answer her, both Jeff and Jane were shouting out in pain. Jane was grasping onto her thigh, and Jeff his back. They were clawing at their pact marks. All of you rushed over to check on them and as Jane pulled up her skirt and Jeff pulled off his shirt the issue became quite obvious. Their pact marks were shrinking. Jeff's which originally took up his full back now took up just the top quarter of it. Jane's which covered half her thigh now covered just a small section across the top.

"What's fucking happening?!" Jeff yelled, struggling to see his back.

"Your pact marks are shrinking," Cherry informed him. "Slender's control over you has lessened because you've discovered the truth. You were greatly betrayed by him and therefore your pact marks have decreased in size, lessening his control over you." She placed her hands upon their marks and they seemed to sigh out in relief, as though she sucked out all of their pain.

"Is that good or bad?" You nervously questioned her.

"It's quite good in the long run because it means it will be much easier for you all to break your pact with him." She answered, returning to her seat on the counter. 

"Break our pact with him..?" BEN questioned.

"Well, yes. That is your next mission." She turned to you with a smile,. "Your next mission is to get the other's on your side and break your pact with Slender."

"But why would we want to do that?" Jack suddenly spoke up, eyeing her from his spot next to Jane.

"Let me put it to you this way-" She altered a bit of space in front of her to reveal Slender standing with other groups of people, "You aren't his first family. But, you can be the first to get away." She looked saddened by this, but there was also determination in her eyes. 

"What happened to the others?" Jane questioned nervously, eyeing the groups of people that all seemed happy, just like their group was.

"I'm afraid that's part of the mystery you have to solve. Although, it certainly wasn't good." She gave you all another look of pity. "Slender does want a perfect family, and part of him enjoys this," She looked fiercely at you all, "But you need to remember he IS an eldritch being. They crave power and reign. Just because he appears docile does not mean he ignores his true nature. Be careful around him, and good luck." With her final words, she had evaporated and left you all there to deal with the aftershock. 

"We have to do this," Jane spoke up, shocking all of you. Her face was shrouded in anger, and you could practically feel it radiating off of her. "I won't let him hurt the others. We need to tear him down while we can."

"Well, who the fuck are we supposed to talk to next?" Jeff asked, sitting back in thought.

"Why don't we start small. We'll start with the people with the smallest pact marks and work our way up." You replied, and the others agreed with you. 

"Who has the next smallest marks?" Jane questioned, and Jack hummed in thought.

"That would be Sally and Jason." He stated, and you all looked at each other with determination. They would be the next to join your ranks. You weren't going to let any others be taken advantage of. They deserved the right to their memories, and you were going to get them back.


	15. Jason and Sally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "How do we know we can trust you?" Jane butted in, and her question was certainly valid. Jason and Sally shared a look.
> 
> "Jane, you are sitting at a table with the three most loyal residents in the mansion. You know that once we promise something, we keep it." Jason responded, and Jack and Sally agreed with him.
> 
> "Okay then," She nodded at them, and you quickly texted BEN updates on the situation, "Who do we go after next?" You all took a moment to ponder this before Jason spoke up.
> 
> "Helen and Puppeteer would be next if we go by the smallest pact mark. They'll either be really easy or really hard to convince, but like us, once they're on your side they won't betray you." 
> 
> "Well then, looks like we've got a couple of best friends to win over. We need to confront them together or else it's game over. Trying to make one hide something from the other will only turn them against us." They all agreed with your statement, and you all got to work on your plan to win them over.

Luckily for all of you, the next day happened to be one of those rare days where Jack would take Sally out to try one of the sweets parlors located within the Underworld. Of course, to remain as unsuspicious as possible, only you and Jane accompanied them. Currently, the two of you were waiting at the entrance for Jack and Sally to return from upstairs.

"Oh, hello," A voice came from the stairwell, and both you and Jane felt your stomachs drop. "Will you both be going with them today?" Slender questioned, walking down the stairs. You took a deep breath and spoke first.

"Yep! I haven't really had the chance to go to a sweets parlor yet, so I wanted to tag along!" You replied, giving him a big smile. 

"I also just happened to get a craving for some sweets, plus this particular one has that beautifully ornate looking dessert I've always wanted to try." Jane also responded to him with a small smile of her own. He hummed and patted you both on the head.

"Well, make sure you have fun and stay safe!" He told you as he walked away. You both smiled after him, but when the two of you made eye contact, you knew you'd have to be careful. You absolutely could not let him know you were onto him. Soon after, the two of you saw Jack and Sally making their way down the stairs, and you both breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of them. Just as you were about to leave, Toby came running up to you.

"H-hey! You guys are g-going out to the shop on 8t-th street right," He excitedly questioned you guys. "Can I c-come?" He looked between all of you and unsure of how to react, all of you hesitated, until Sally confidently stepped forward.

"Sorry, Toby, not today. I wanted to have some quality time with them because I haven't been able to see any of them in a few days. Maybe next time." She gave him a big happy smile only kids were capable of making, and he sighed but agreed to her terms nonetheless. After that, the three of you held onto Jack, and he teleported you all off to the parlor.

"Ugh," you groaned, stepping away from him, "I don't know what's worse, teleporting or being sucked through a screen." Jack clicked his tongue but ruffled your hair. 

"I could've made you walk, you know. Don't be a pill, and just be happy you had a way here." He teased, opening the doors to the parlor and holding them open for all of you to walk in. As you all ordered, Sally made way to a pretty pink table in the back, decorated prettily with flowers and small colorful boxes. Sally hummed in delight as Jack made his way over with your treats, and she quickly grabbed a spoon and shoved a large amount of the brightly colored dessert into her mouth.

"So," she started, licking some frosting off of her spoon and looking at you expectantly, "You wanted to talk about Slender, right?" She quirked her head to the side, and the look in her eyes made a shiver run down your spine. She quickly went back to eating her dessert, and you nervously took a bite of your own, although you quickly squealed out at the delicious flavor, and that earned a smile from Jack and Sally.

"I already informed her of our little group, and what's going on," Jack informed you, tossing a small flowery dessert into his mouth and closing his eyes happily as he chewed. "Turns out she was already aware of Slender, which is why her mark is so small." She grunted at that.

"That, and my power level. Honestly, BEN shouldn't even need to take the pills or your candies anyways. Both of us are strong enough not to need them as poltergeists, just like you're strong enough, Jack." She seemed a bit irritated but looked towards you with a small smile.

"I've always known he was there," she informed you as she leaned forward on her hands, "I still have memories of seeing him as a human before my uncle did what he did." Yes, it was common knowledge to even you what her uncle had done, the sick bastard. "It's no surprise to me that he might have been affecting my uncle." Jane frowned and reached out to brush some hair out of Sally's face, and the little girl happily accepted the gesture.

"If you knew, why didn't you tell any of us?" Jane questioned, taking a few photos of her cake before digging into it herself. 

"I didn't know if you'd believe me. I didn't want to be on his bad side, let alone anyone else's." Her statement made you think for a moment before you questioned her.

"Why did you really tell Toby you didn't want him to come along?" She looked down and hummed, before glancing back up at your eyes.

"Toby is the most attached to Slender, so it would be best to keep him out of this. He will be the hardest to convince of this." You all easily agreed to that, as it was true. He certainly was attached at the hip to the man at any chance he could get. 

"Who do you think we should get next?" Jane asked her, finishing up the last bite of cake.

"We were considering Jason," Jack mentioned, and Sally sighed at that.

"It wouldn't surprise me if Jason was already aware just as I was. He isn't exactly buddy buddy with Slender anyways, so he would be easy to convince on that front. But, are you sure he'll join now that I'm here? I mean, he is a bit uneasy around me." She had a good point there, but you didn't need to ponder it for that long. 

"Slender has given me a place to call my own," A deep suave voice called out from behind you as his figure swayed a bit closer to you, "But if Jack is going against him of course, I'll be joining in as well." He pulled a chair away from another table and took a seat to your left, furthest from Sally. 

"You sure about that? After all, this is a team effort and I'd hate to make you feel uncomfortable." Sally questioned him, but he quickly agreed that it was worth it. The other residents were his friends, and he would do anything for his friends. He had also informed you that Jack had tipped him off with a note that morning, so he was already aware of your plan as well. 

"How do we know we can trust you?" Jane butted in, and her question was certainly valid. Jason and Sally shared a look.

"Jane, you are sitting at a table with the three most loyal residents in the mansion. You know that once we promise something, we keep it." Jason responded, and Jack and Sally agreed with him.

"Okay then," She nodded at them, and you quickly texted BEN updates on the situation, "Who do we go after next?" You all took a moment to ponder this before Jason spoke up.

"Helen and Puppeteer would be next if we go by the smallest pact mark. They'll either be really easy or really hard to convince, but like us, once they're on your side they won't betray you." 

"Well then, looks like we've got a couple of best friends to win over. We need to confront them together or else it's game over. Trying to make one hide something from the other will only turn them against us." They all agreed with your statement, and you all got to work on your plan to win them over.


	16. (Extra Chapter) Jeff's Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to start getting into Jeff's backstory, so I thought I would post my version of his backstory that I refer to when writing!
> 
> This has already been posted on my Tumblr so some of you have already seen this~
> 
> Do remember these are my own opinions and my own version of him.

Jeffery William Masters was born prematurely three years after his older brother Liu. His mother had experienced serious birth complications, some of which lasted long after his birth, causing his mother to hold a lot of animosity towards Jeff, especially because Liu had a perfectly safe birth with no complications.

Starting at a young age Jeff developed a love for sports, although it was always hard on his body because he had been born with severe asthma. It took him many years to train his body to be able to handle physical strains, and while for the most part now he doesn't suffer from it very often he still carries a rescue inhaler.

His mother would often tell him he was only a good son because he was good at athletics, and she would constantly praise Liu who chose to pursue academics over sports, stating that Jeff could never be as smart as Liu, that he was just an ignorant athlete that would only succeed in physical matters. This caused him to develop a complex through his youth, even though his intelligence proved to be much higher than Liu's consistently, which would only anger his mother more.

Jeff discovered at a young age that he was interested in both genders, soon gaining his first crush on a boy in one of his classes at the age of 10. His family was extremely conservative, and while Liu was willing to accept and love his brother, his mother used this as another reason to hate him. She would often beat him after making this discovery, calling him slurs and reminding him that he would never amount to anything. 

Jeff began to rely heavily on Liu, who loved his brother unbiasedly and always had his door open for him. He would help him with his injuries and do his best to assure his brother that he was worth much more than their mother stated, and the two soon became inseparable when they were able to be close.

Things started to go downhill for Jeff when they moved across the country with his father was given a new job position. Aside from his beatings at home, Jeff was now getting beat at school by the new town's local bullies that decided to pick on him as the new kid in a small town. He had no friends in town other than his brother. Eventually, Jeff got proof of the beatings when he was a freshman in high school and presented them to the school. The bullies were punished accordingly, but they obviously weren't happy about this new situation.

The bullies cornered Jeff one day after school and hauled him out to the empty fields behind the school. Luckily, a young girl by the name of Jane had followed them out there to see what they were doing. The boys tied him up, doused him in bleach, and lit him on fire, running away and leaving him to die. Jane ended up calling 911 and Jeff got taken to a hospital. His eyes had been burned particularly bad from the flames and he lost all vision in his left eye, and the damage done to his genitals caused him to become infertile.

It seemed that this incident had finally caused a snap in Jeff. He had finally been pushed one too many times, and as soon as he was brought home from the hospital it was obvious he was a different person on the outside. He lost it one night and cut a smile into his face to prove to himself that he could be happy no matter the odds. Of course, his mother walked in on him and berated him for this, cursing him out and calling him an ugly worthless piece of shit and a disappointment. 

She went to lay her hands on him and he beat her to it, murdering her in cold blood and leaving her there to die. He then went to his parent's bedroom and murdered his father while he slept. He went to escape, and Liu tried to stop him, tried to hold him back, and Jeff stabbed him to get him to stop and fled. 

He would go on to murder his bullies and all families on his block, notably lighting on fire several of the houses on that block, one of which belonged to the girl which had saved his life.

Jeff suffers from PTSD from these incidents to this day. He regrets what he did to Jane and Liu, and has apologized to Jane and communicated his regret to her multiple times. The two are currently on a truce. Jeff has a difficult time even being around Liu, but the two are working on overcoming these issues.


	17. The Library

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Zalgo?" You asked confused.
> 
> "Yeah, he's another Eldritch being," Jeff stated, leaning over you to get a shot at the photo, "He used to be friends with Slender from what I heard, but nowadays they just compete with each other in business." You hummed studying the image.
> 
> "Why aren't they close friends anymore?"
> 
> "We don't know because Slender doesn't talk about it much, but apparently they had a huge disagreement about something, so they stick now as strictly business partners." Jane took the photo from your hands and looked it over, turning it around.
> 
> "It's dated from the 1800s. Looks like he really has been doing this for a really long time." Jane hummed and her statement only made you all feel much more uneasy.
> 
> "Do you think..." You began, and they both looked at you quizically, "Do you think that if we found Zalgo that he would help us? Or at least tell us why he's doing this?"
> 
> "I dunno," Jeff answered, looking a bit uneasy. "He isn't exactly a nice guy and I doubt he'd tell us anything for free. He also probably wouldn't be very welcoming as we're tied to Slender, and even if he did, how do we know he wouldn't rat us out?"

All of you decided to wait for a few days before you began confronting Helen and Puppeteer. You didn't want to rush through the operation and end up getting sloppy, which could end up spelling your downfall in the end. In your spare time, all of you had been working on figuring out the secret to why Slender had needed a perfect family, and why he had been working on it with so many different families. The images Cherry had shown you had resembled photographs, so all of you were looking around the mansion in varying shifts to try and find any physical proof of them.

You had also been working with Jane to help browse through Slender's library. There were parts of the library that were off-limits, and while you were risking getting in trouble, you knew that it would be worth the risk in the end. Over the last few days, you had been checking all of the books to find any hidden pieces of paper or photographs, and you'd been putting in research for possible motives an Eldritch being would have to do this. So far, you hadn't found anything worth noting, although you had only covered about a fourth of the section you were looking in to.

After finishing up breakfast that morning, you had texted Jane and made plans to meet up and continue looking. As you jogged downstairs to your basement to let Jeff know, you felt your breath get caught in your throat. While you knew Jeff was fit you had never really seen him in action before and you couldn't help but find yourself staring as he was doing some bench presses. Sweat dripping down his body and muscles visible, he was certainly an attractive man. He eventually noticed your presence and smirked as he made eye contact with you.

"Like what ya see?" He teased you, winking as he sat up and beckoned you over. You timidly walked over to him and stood in front of him, and he was quick to wrap his arms around you and lean into your chest.

"Maybe I do." You leaned down to press a kiss to his lips and he pulled back to study you, humming at you in response.

"You headin' over to look through that stupid library again?" You nodded in response and he sighed. "I'm goin' with ya. You two are never gonna make any progress if you don't get any more help." You went to speak up in protest but he silenced you with a kiss, standing up and tugging you with him as he went upstairs.

"We just don't want to have too many people in there to avoid getting caught." You reminded him, speeding up to match his stride. 

"Well, that's why you have people on the lookout." He reminded you right back, pulling out his phone to have BEN bring you guys to the mansion. "If we work together in shifts this will go by much faster." You wanted to argue but he did have a point, and as BEN pulled you both through the screen you weren't all that surprised to find the other's waiting within BEN's room for you. 

"So shifts then?" You sighed out, looking across the room to study their faces.

"You, Jane, and Jeff are first up." Sally chimed in, looking up at you as she clutched her stuffed bear in her hands. 

"We're all going to be surveying the area like we did when you went into his office," Jack told you, standing up tall and stretching as he turned himself invisible again. "Make sure to pay attention regardless." His voice echoed throughout the room before his presence disappeared, and the three of you made your way to the library. 

The library itself was five stories, one for every floor of the mansion, and it was stuffed completely full of books, so much so that it would be easy to get lost. The restricted section took up the entirety of the top two floors, and you and Jane had only covered one of the four sections on the floor second to the top. The three of you were currently working on busting out the second section when you received a warning text from BEN that someone was heading for the library. You alerted the other two and the three of you made your way down a floor to the normal sections just in time to see Tim walk into the library. 

"What are you three doing?" He questioned, eyeing you suspiciously as he placed some files on a desk in the center of the library.

"There was a book I wanted to read but I can't remember where I saw it, so we're trying to find it," Jane informed him, leaning over a railing and staring down at him. He studied her for a moment, and then snorted and began heading for the exit. 

"Good luck wasting the next few hours then." He shouted back before exiting the library. You all breathed a sigh of relief as he left. The proxies were the three you had to be the most worried about, as they were the most faithful to Slender. Getting caught by one of them meant immediate failure, and you weren't all about to get caught. After making your way quickly back up the stairs you resumed your browsing, but this time at a much faster pace. As you reached for a book on the top of the shelf you made a noise of shock as a photograph fell out of it and landed on the floor, and scurried down your ladder to pick it up and observe it. 

"Hey, guys, who is this?" You questioned as they came to your side. It was Slender, standing with what looked like another one of his "families", and there was someone else standing beside him that you didn't recognize.

"That's Zalgo." Jane answered, peering down from beside you at the photo.

"Zalgo?" You asked confused.

"Yeah, he's another Eldritch being," Jeff stated, leaning over you to get a shot at the photo, "He used to be friends with Slender from what I heard, but nowadays they just compete with each other in business." You hummed studying the image.

"Why aren't they close friends anymore?"

"We don't know because Slender doesn't talk about it much, but apparently they had a huge disagreement about something, so they stick now as strictly business partners." Jane took the photo from your hands and looked it over, turning it around.

"It's dated from the 1800s. Looks like he really has been doing this for a really long time." Jane hummed and her statement only made you all feel much more uneasy.

"Do you think..." You began, and they both looked at you quizically, "Do you think that if we found Zalgo that he would help us? Or at least tell us why he's doing this?"

"I dunno," Jeff answered, looking a bit uneasy. "He isn't exactly a nice guy and I doubt he'd tell us anything for free. He also probably wouldn't be very welcoming as we're tied to Slender, and even if he did, how do we know he wouldn't rat us out?" He raised a good point and you all thought about it for a moment.

"Well, technically," Jane spoke up, "We are trying to sabotage Slender, and if Slender goes out of business wouldn't that be good for Zalgo?" The three of you looked between yourselves and decided it would be an idea to try out in the future. You slid the photo back into the book and placed it back on the top shelf where you had found it. 

"We'll have to tell the others. For now, though, I suggest we stop here before someone else walks in." Agreeing with Jane, the three of you fled the library and went to meet up in BEN's room again, unaware that someone new was already well aware of your plan and already watching what you had been doing.


	18. Situational Update

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Well, actually," Jason chimed in, "The person I was considering inviting in next doesn't have a small mark at all."
> 
> "And who might that be?" Jack questioned him, analyzing his face.
> 
> "Smiley. The dude has a big mark, but he can't stand Slender, plus he has access to the drugs, so it's likely he might be aware of what's going on." That was quite a good point, and so you all agreed to that idea as well. 
> 
> "Should we try to go for someone else at the same time?" BEN asked, and you all considered that for a moment as well.
> 
> "Puppeteer and I will get Natalie." Puppeteer looked shocked by Helen's statement.
> 
> "They're trying to be strategic and you wanna go for Natalie?" His voice was full of surprise.
> 
> "Look, I know it could be risky-"
> 
> "Could be? It IS risky!" 
> 
> "Listen!" Puppeteer shut his mouth upon Helen's shouting and the entire room quieted down. "I know it's risky. But you know Natalie is closest to us. If we introduce her as they introduced us, explain the situation, and have her get off the pills, she's likely to join our side. She's protective over everyone and if she has a reason to distrust Slender she won't continue to stand by him."

A lot had happened recently for you, and time seemed to pass by much faster than you were used to. After discovering the photograph, you had all discussed how to go about this, and you all decided you would visit Zalgo, but ONLY when you had more members of your group. You all decided to take more time and cross this bridge slowly, as you wanted to seriously convince the other residents, rather than rushing it. After two months had passed, and you had already been there a year, of course, Slender had thrown you a party, as apparently, it was tradition to mark your first year. Your group had used that as a chance to isolate Helen and Puppeteer.

. . .

"What did you guys need?" Helen asked, leaning against the wall as Puppeteer stood by him, looking over the seven of you curiously. You had taken them out to one of the sheds on the mansion grounds where you knew you wouldn't be heard. Of course, you all explained the situation, and as expected, they didn't believe you.

"What the fuck do you mean he's blocking our memories?" Helen's voice was full of venom and disbelief, and as he turned to Puppeteer for support, he was shocked to find him considering your words. 

"Can you provide us with physical evidence?" Puppeteer asked, and you showed him the photographic evidence of the medical orders, and he seemed to think over it again. 

"Pup, you can't be serious." Helen was staring at him in disbelief, and Puppeteer looked at him considerately. "Slender wouldn't do that! They've gotta be fucking lying!" He yelled out, and Puppeteer sighed, glancing at all of you again.

"Two weeks." You all piped up at his words. "We'll go two weeks off of Slender's pills, and if we don't notice a difference, we will turn you in." His words had sent chills down your spine, but you agreed to his terms, and with more coercion, Helen was agreeing as well. You had handed them a two week supply of Jack's candies and sent them on their way. Of course, you all made sure to monitor them to make sure that they weren't going to let word slip, and true to their word they didn't. When two weeks had passed, you all met up again.

"Well...?" You timidly asked them, standing before their piercing gazes. They shared a look and Helen sighed, softening his gaze.

"I owe you an apology." Helen's words were strong, and his gaze shot right through you. "I'd hope you accept it because I'm not one to hand them out. And as much as I hate to admit it, you were right. We both got memories back, of Slender interfering with us." He sounded disappointed, and that was completely understandable. 

"What are you expecting us to do now?" Puppeteer questioned, and you explained to him what all of you had been doing over the last year.

"So we need to figure out why he needs us happy, huh?" 

"That, and we're trying to gradually introduce more of you into the group." Jane chimed in.

"Well, how are you deciding on who to choose?" Helen questioned, glancing over those of you in the room.

"We were going by the smallest pact mark, as the larger the pact mark, the more influence he has over us," Jeff stated, reaching back to rub his shrunken pact mark. "Your's changed sizes as well, didn't they?" He asked, and Helen and Puppeteer agreed that their marks had gotten smaller upon regaining their memories. 

"So, going by size who would be next?" You asked, and everyone thought for a moment.

"Well, actually," Jason chimed in, "The person I was considering inviting in next doesn't have a small mark at all."

"And who might that be?" Jack questioned him, analyzing his face.

"Smiley. The dude has a big mark, but he can't stand Slender, plus he has access to the drugs, so it's likely he might be aware of what's going on." That was quite a good point, and so you all agreed to that idea as well. 

"Should we try to go for someone else at the same time?" BEN asked, and you all considered that for a moment as well.

"Puppeteer and I will get Natalie." Puppeteer looked shocked by Helen's statement.

"They're trying to be strategic and you wanna go for Natalie?" His voice was full of surprise.

"Look, I know it could be risky-"

"Could be? It IS risky!" 

"Listen!" Puppeteer shut his mouth upon Helen's shouting and the entire room quieted down. "I know it's risky. But you know Natalie is closest to us. If we introduce her as they introduced us, explain the situation, and have her get off the pills, she's likely to join our side. She's protective over everyone and if she has a reason to distrust Slender she won't continue to stand by him." 

"Okay. I'll go for Smiley, and you guys can work on getting Natalie." Everyone agreed to your statement, and it was agreed that that would happen.

. . .

It had been a while since then, and you all had gradually been working on swaying Natalie and Smiley, although not much progress had been made. You had all continued focusing on it and had focused on strengthening your own bonds as well. You and Jeff had especially been getting closer, and before the two of you had realized it you had already passed your one year anniversary together. It had been a bumpy ride but the two of you were stronger than ever.

. . .

It was early in the morning when you had been awoken by a crash, and you jolted up from your bed in shock. You climbed out of bed and waited by your door for any more noises. When you heard a choked sob come from down the hall, and you knew immediately it was Jeff. You quickly dashed from your room to his, and you shouted at him through the door. He choked out your name amongst his sobs, and you slowly opened his door. He was crouched in a ball on the floor, sitting amongst a knocked over wardrobe sobbing into his hands, his night terrors bothering him yet again. 

"Oh, Jeff," You cooed to him, crouching in front of him and pulling him into your chest. He quickly wrapped himself around you and sobbed into your body as he snuggled into you. Since your first experience with Jeff and his night terrors, and since the two of you had started dating, you had been working on you being able to comfort him. He had been shy about it for a while, and you didn't want to invade his personal space, but on your one-year anniversary, he broke down and finally spilled his guts to you about his past. 

He told you about his past childhood asthma and about how he still carried an inhaler with him, even though he was insecure about it. He told you about all the horrible things his mother had done to him and how he was still suffering from her violence. He confessed that he was blind in his left eye, which you had had suspicions about since you'd first met him, and you reaffirmed to him that him being blind in one eye didn't change your feelings about him. He told you about how his family had shunned him because of his bisexuality, and how he never felt safe with his identity. He explained his relationship with his brother to you, all of the bullyings he went through, and what had happened the night of his incident.

It had been hard for him to let you in at first after that as well, but now at a year and a half into your romantic relationship, coming to you for help was second nature to him. He became much more affectionate with you behind closed doors and in front of others, and the two of you were happy together. You had tried getting to know Liu, and while he was very accepting of your relationship and of you, Sully had certainly been another story. Sully was the only reason why none of you had tried informing Liu about the truth behind Slender. 

"I just want it to stop." Jeff cried out into your chest, bringing your attention back to him. You kissed his head and told him it all go away eventually, and he moved back to glance up at you, his eyes an inflamed red from his crying. You cupped his cheeks in your hands and he closed his eyes, relaxing into your touch. You tenderly pressed your lips against his, and he quickly kissed you back. The two of you continued on for a few minutes until Jeff had calmed down enough to steady his breathing, and when you reached that point you promised him that you would stay in bed with him that night, as you always did when his terrors got too bad.

. . .

You were always hesitant about confronting Smiley, especially because it was nearly impossible for you to get him alone, but when the chance finally presented itself to you, you jumped at the possibility. He had been alone in the medical lab one day when everyone else was out, and you snuck up to him and asked him if you could speak to him. He, on what he claimed was his lunch break, agreed and allowed you to present your case to him. You began to explain the Slender situation to him about what was going on.

"And I know that might sound hard to believe, but I do have evidence," You showed him the medical papers, "And I'm sure the other's would be willing to explain it to you." You were nervous, and he was studying you with an intense expression.

"Yeah, okay." He said, going back to slurping his leftover spaghetti into his mouth. Talk about a mood breaker.

"W-what? You believe me?" You were shocked at his acceptance, and he nodded as he swallowed.

"I mean, you showed proof and you've obviously already convinced several others that would be hard to convince. What's not to believe." He set his bowl down, and stood, looking down at you with a sigh. He walked around his desk and over to the medical shelves. He plucked a bottle of the pills off of the shelf and then grabbed a bottle of pills from a locked drawer below them.

"It might also have something to do with that fact," he began, looking towards you with a smirk, "That I was already aware and taking separate pills." He lifted the second bottle and showed them to you, and they were identical to the ones Jack had been providing all of you. You were shocked, but then you chuckled, shaking your head.

"Jason did say you would probably already be aware, I guess he was right, huh?" He smiled, putting his pills back in their hiding place, walking over to you, and ruffling your hair.

"I am the head doctor. Of course, I'd be aware of what I'm giving to my patients." He readily agreed to join your team, and assist in any way that he could.

"I've been considering this for a while, but when we have much more people aware, how would you feel about switching all of the pills out for the right ones?" You pondered his words for a minute and sighed in thought. 

"When we have a lot more people, we can ask the others how they feel. I feel like it could be risky and I don't want to decide for them." He agreed with you.

"So, who else are all of you considering?" He asked, quirking his head to the side and twirling his keys around his finger.

"Natalie is next on our list. Helen and Puppeteer are considering going for her." He hummed, and walked back over to his desk, switching a light on above the entrance saying that the med lab was open.

"Well, I suggest you tell them to hurry. After all, she isn't going to be happy about having things hidden from her for too long." That was certainly a good point, and as you bid him goodbye to go tell the others he would help you, you knew you'd need to hurry up and alert Natalie of the situation at hand.


	19. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I've actually already been working with EJ," Smiley chimed in, "He isn't here now because he's sleeping, but I got him on board yesterday. I'd told him about the medicine, and he's currently working on trying to get a larger supply of the normal pills."
> 
> "Wait, EJ straight up just agreed?" BEN asked him in surprise.
> 
> "Oh, no. It was quite the struggle, especially when his instincts took over in anger, but I was able to calm him down with a few tranquilizers."
> 
> "You tranquilized him?!" Jane shouted at him in concern.
> 
> "Oh please Jane, I used normal tranquilizers for animals. They barely affect him and just calm him down a bit." He dismissed her with a wave of his hand. "I had to get him calm. I thought he was gonna storm right up to Slender and try and kill him right then and there." You all ended up being very thankful for that because losing one of your members to anger was not an option.

While you all agreed to go after Natalie, saying that you would do that and actually doing it were two totally different things. Natalie was a wild child, and she was also extremely loud. Trying to convince her to go somewhere, let alone do it quietly, was something that was extremely difficult to do. So, when you told Helen and Puppeteer to be tactful about it and play it safe, you weren't expecting them to grab her and have Jack immediately warp her into your house unannounced. 

"What the fuck are we doing here?" Natalie shouted out, wriggling around in Puppeteer's arms. You and Jeff were in the middle of eating dinner, not expecting them, so you looked just as confused as she did. Jack warped away from you all and then warped back with the rest of your group. 

"What are we all doing here?" You timidly asked, looking between Puppeteer and Helen.

"Well, ya said to get Natalie so we got Natalie." You sighed and facepalmed at Puppeteer's response.

"I meant calmly talk to her, not kidnap her from the fucking mansion." The boys shrugged at your answer, and Natalie seemed to be even more on guard. 

"Why do you need to talk to me? And why are so many of you here?" She looked between the ten of you, and none of you dared to speak first.

"We just wanted to talk to you about something important." Sally eventually spoke up, walking up to Natalie, and staring up at her.

"Oh yeah?" She said, crossing her arms and glancing down at Sally suspiciously.

"It's about Slender, Natalie," Smiley spoke up, plopping himself down at the table next to you. "There are some... Important things you should know about him that have recently been brought to the attention of those here." She scoffed and shook her head, looking like she was about to make a break for it. She looked angry.

"No. You are not pulling this bullshit with me, we have a happy family with nothing wrong with it, you are not pulling this with me!" Her voice gradually got louder and louder and Puppeteer and Helen moved to be ready to grab her if she tried to run.

"Natalie, there is something wrong with it. We wouldn't be doing this if there wasn't." Jeff spoke up, standing from his seat and her eyes shot to him, seething with the rage she was feeling.

"Don't even fucking start with me Jeff," she turned and glared at you, "This is all your fucking fault! Before you showed up everything was fine! Now you've gone and fucked with their heads and lied to them!" She tried to charge at you but the boys held her back and Jeff stood in front of you.

"This isn't their fault Natalie! Smiley and Jack already knew about what we were going to tell you before they even knew about it!" His voice was raised, and his body was shaking. He was angry, but he was trying to hold back for the sake of his friends. 

"They changed you, Jeff! You used to put family first!" Her words were venomous and only spurred him on more.

"Oh yeah, they changed me alright! They made me happy! They made me feel loved, and appreciated, and gave me another safe space! And for the record, they are family! Everyone in this goddamn room is like family to me, and if you don't stop being a piece of shit, and just shut the fuck up and listen to us, and allow us to explain all of this to you, then I will make you regret it! Get off your stupid bullshit high horse and realize you aren't the only one that values family!" His voice was louder than you'd ever heard before and his body was shaking, and Natalie finally seemed to get the point. 

She closed her mouth and relaxed back into Helen's arms where he was holding her back. She stayed silent, and all of you explained the situation. Of course, once she realized none of you were kidding, her pact mark shrunk just as the other's had and she experienced the pain of it.

"Why should I trust you?" Her words were spoken directly to you, and you swallowed nervously. 

"Because I care about all of you. I know I've been here for the least amount of time, and I don't know all of you to the same extent you know each other, but I don't want any of you to have to suffer. I don't want any of you to have your memories stolen from you, and have you hiding behind lies." She considered your words for a moment.

"Helen and Puppeteer would never lie to me. They don't trust anyone, so the fact that they're on your side says something. Let's get this straight." She pointed at you and her eyes gained their fierceness again, "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for my family. I haven't accepted you into it yet, and even if I do someday, I am only doing this for them." 

"Go easy on em, Nat. You know they have good intentions." Jack patted her on the back and she sighed, looking away from you. She didn't respond to him.

"So, we've gotten Natalie and been bumped up to 11, who's gonna be our 12th?" BEN asked, and Jane shook her head.

"This isn't a game where you try to collect people, BEN." She sent him a small glare.

"Maybe not to you." He stuck his tongue out at her.

"If we continue to go by size, who would we nab next?" Puppeteer questioned.

"Well," Jane spoke up, "That would be either EJ or..." She glanced at Jeff, "Liu." You sucked in a breath at that. Liu would be a big challenge, after all, there was no way any of you could trust Sully, at least not that you were aware of. He seemed to despise all of you and he had a mean streak of ruining things.

"I've actually already been working with EJ," Smiley chimed in, "He isn't here now because he's sleeping, but I got him on board yesterday. I'd told him about the medicine, and he's currently working on trying to get a larger supply of the normal pills."

"Wait, EJ straight up just agreed?" BEN asked him in surprise.

"Oh, no. It was quite the struggle, especially when his instincts took over in anger, but I was able to calm him down with a few tranquilizers."

"You tranquilized him?!" Jane shouted at him in concern.

"Oh please Jane, I used normal tranquilizers for animals. They barely affect him and just calm him down a bit." He dismissed her with a wave of his hand. "I had to get him calm. I thought he was gonna storm right up to Slender and try and kill him right then and there." You all ended up being very thankful for that because losing one of your members to anger was not an option.

"So we're actually at 12, and the next will be 13?" Sally hummed, stealing a few bites of dessert that you had set out.

"Are we going to try with Liu?" You asked Jeff, staring at him in concern. He was silent for a few moments, and all of you waited in anticipation of his answer.

"Let me do it. I have to be the one to talk to him." You all agreed with him. Your eyes went wide in sudden realization, and they asked if you were okay.

"If- if we get Liu, that means that only the proxies are left." You all went silent yet again. The proxies would be the hardest to work with. They were the closest to Slender and the most likely to betray you.

"I don't know how we'd even go about getting them." Puppeteer sighed out, picking at his nails.

"I say when we get Liu, and when not if, because Jeff can do this, we can do this," Jason spoke up, "Then we go to Zalgo." 

"Why the fuck are we going to Zalgo?" Natalie, who had been silently observing, finally chimed in.

"We're going to ask him about his relationship with Slender, and why they stopped cooperating." She seemed nervous, just as all of you were, but Helen comforted her and calmed her down.

"We'll work with Liu, and then we'll go to Zalgo, and then we can start considering how to work with the proxies. It's going to be a struggle, but it's a struggle we have to commit to." You were all in agreement, although you were definitely not all confident. Sully could ruin everything for all of you, and if he did, it would be game over. Jeff would have to tread carefully, but none of you were sure he'd be able to do that. You all silently hoped for his success. Your lives depended on it.


	20. Brother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I- I uh, need to talk to you about something." Liu seemed to pick up on his hesitation and studied him intently.
> 
> "What would that be? Because I'm assuming it's not something like how to pop the question." He was teasing him, but Jeff could pick up on the suspicion in his tone.
> 
> "Well, no, not for a while." Jeff swallowed nervously and wiped his hands along his jeans. "I need to talk to you about Slender." Liu quirked his brows at that.
> 
> "Why about Slender? Is it about the new work policies he was considering implementing about our pay?" Jeff sighed and shook his head.
> 
> "No, uh, it's about something he's been hiding from us," Jeff explained everything to him. About the pills, about the memories, about your group and your plans. Liu listened intently and stood in silent thought for a few moments afterward. 
> 
> "Jeff." Jeff perked up at Liu's broken silence. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
> 
> "What do you mean?" Jeff questioned him nervously.
> 
> "We had a horrible family growing up, especially on your end of things. But you have been so happy at the mansion, so loved and cared for. Are you really sure that you're truly ready to give that up?"

All of you agreed to let Jeff handle Liu alone, but of course, you wanted to play it safe so a few of you were stationed near where they would be meeting in case Sully came out and tried to pull something. Jeff would also have his phone on him, so BEN would be listening to and monitoring the situation. As Jeff made his way to the meeting point, you were currently holed up in your house with the remaining members, waiting in anticipation for what was to come.

. . .

Jeff paced around the meeting location anxiously. There was a lake about 15 minutes from the mansion, and Liu had agreed to meet him out there that day. Eventually, he heard crunching quickly approaching, and he turned around to see Liu jogging up to him with a smile. 

"Hey there," He started, catching his breath as he reached him, "It's not often you ask to meet up with me, what did you wanna talk about?" As per usual, he was all smiles, unaware of what he was about to learn.

"I- I uh, need to talk to you about something." Liu seemed to pick up on his hesitation and studied him intently.

"What would that be? Because I'm assuming it's not something like how to pop the question." He was teasing him, but Jeff could pick up on the suspicion in his tone.

"Well, no, not for a while." Jeff swallowed nervously and wiped his hands along his jeans. "I need to talk to you about Slender." Liu quirked his brows at that.

"Why about Slender? Is it about the new work policies he was considering implementing about our pay?" Jeff sighed and shook his head.

"No, uh, it's about something he's been hiding from us," Jeff explained everything to him. About the pills, about the memories, about your group and your plans. Liu listened intently and stood in silent thought for a few moments afterward. 

"Jeff." Jeff perked up at Liu's broken silence. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"What do you mean?" Jeff questioned him nervously.

"We had a horrible family growing up, especially on your end of things. But you have been so happy at the mansion, so loved and cared for. Are you really sure that you're truly ready to give that up?" Jeff processed his words for a moment and hesitated. That was true. This had been his first good home, his first real home. But as Jeff looked back up at Liu he knew his answer.

"I don't want to live in a home where I have to pretend to be unaware. I don't want a family that was founded upon lies. That's not a home, in fact, it feels much more like a prison." Jeff's voice was firm and his eyes were determined as Liu looked him over and analyzed him. Liu sighed and looked away first.

"Alright. I'll support your decision, because if you're this devoted to this cause, then it must be the right thing to do." Liu gave him a small smile and a nod. "So, what now?"

"Now," Jeff nervously swallowed, "I need to talk to Sully." Liu's eyes went wide in shock and he looked at Jeff as if he had grown another head.

"You- you WANT to talk to Sully?" Liu was beyond confused. "You know how he is, how he can be." 

"Yes. I have to make sure he can get behind this too." Jeff was firm in his stance, and within a few moments, he heard some dark chuckling coming from Liu.

"What, don't want your big brother to keep you safe anymore?" Sully cocked his head back and smirked, but Jeff wasn't going to be provoked. Not today, not right now.

"Technically, you're also my big brother, and I'm going to have to ask you to do a favor as my brother." Sully laughed at that.

"Why the fuck would I do a favor for you, dickwad? After what you did to Liu, why the hell would I wanna help you?" Sully was cocky, but Jeff wouldn't be shut down.

"Well, who would you rather cooperate with? Me, or the thing that's continually fucking around with his mind?" Sully raised a brow and scoffed.

"Ooh? And what do you think you mean by that?" Jeff had him on guard, which meant he was making progress. He stepped closer to Sully, getting into his face.

"I think you know exactly what I mean by that." Jeff had a theory, and he wanted to test it. Sully was made the night of the incident, and Liu had no memories of it. So, wouldn't Sully be able to recall that night and his creation?

"Jeff, back the fuck off." Sully was getting huffy, and his voice had an edge to it. He was warning him.

"No. You know what the fuck I'm talking about. You know what he did that night. So why do you work for him? Why do you let him manipulate Liu like that?" Jeff continued to push him on, getting into his face and yelling.

"You don't know what the fuck you're talking about asshole!" Sully shouted back.

"I think I fucking do! I think you are well aware of what I'm saying you stupid asshole! You know what he did, and you know it wasn't completely my fault! You know what's going on but you're too scared to admit it you bitch!" Jeff started shoving him as he yelled at him, and it seemed that finally got him to snap.

"You know what jackass, I do fucking know! But of course, I'd never do anything about it!" Sully was screaming now, and he shoved Jeff back, getting into his face as he had. "What the fuck was I supposed to do?! I can't kill him! Not even if I fucking wanted to! And Liu was happy here! He was fucking happy! Who would I be to shit on his parade?!" Sully was heaving and Jeff smiled at him, which only angered him further.

"Well, luckily for you, his parade is over. He's already agreed to join our little team going against Slender." Sully glared at him and huffed. 

"I'm not working with you." He growled out, and before Jeff could say anything he continued. "But, I also won't rat you out. That jackass deserves to fall." Sully glared at him one more time and before he decided to let Liu come back out, he made one more comment.

"Jeff. Don't fuck this up." And he was gone. Jeff figured he'd have to do his best because that was the first time since Sully had ever come around that he'd called him by his first name. BEN chimed in that he'd heard they were on the team and the others that were there to help came out and confirmed as well. They finally had everyone but the proxies. Now they'd just have to play their cards right and hope to god that Slender didn't catch on.


	21. Crystals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "That's one of the things we wanted to ask you." He hummed at your statement. "But, most importantly, we wanted to ask why you stopped being friends with him." The look he gave you made you want to curl into yourself and disappear, and you were severely on guard, as were the others. 
> 
> "Why we stopped being friends? Let's get one thing straight, child. We were never friends." His anger was radiating off of him, and you had to try not to cry under the pressure of his voice. "We were only ever business partners. We were originally working together before we separated."
> 
> "Why did you separate?" You questioned, and he sighed.
> 
> "Slender and I wanted different things. We both crave power, of course, but we go about getting it in different ways. I haven't changed the way I've gone after power, for I have no need to. My methods get me my power fast and easy, but he, of course, takes the long way around it." 
> 
> "How do you get your power?" You regretted asking that question the minute after you asked it, the dark smile he sent you, showing off all of his fangs, immediately made you feel like a small mouse standing below a roaring lion. 
> 
> "How do we get our power? Oh, you sweet sweet child." He chuckled darkly.

Hope that Slender didn't catch on, huh? Easier said than done when all but three of the mansion residents were aware of everything. You had all been trying your best to carry on normally, however, it seemed that you might not have been doing well enough. Slender had sent out a notification to all of you that starting within the next few days he would be monitoring pill intake. Although, of course, you had all already planned for a scenario like this.

EJ had used his connections to obtain more of the pills that Smiley had been using, and he was able to give everyone their own supply. Of course, you'd all have to be able to switch the pills without Slender noticing, but the pills themselves looked identical. You had all also planned for the possibility of some of you needing to take Slender's pills, and you had prepared for the instance that some of you would lose your memories again.

You all had also been planning for your meeting with Zalgo. His castle was easy to find, sure, but getting in and getting him to talk to all of you was an entirely different situation. You were all originally going to traverse to his castle in a small group, but upon further consideration, you all decided to go as a group for safety precautions. You had all packed a bag for yourselves, some with weapons some with health supplies, and set off for his castle when Slender would be gone for the day. 

. . .

As you trudged up the long stairs to the castle gates, BEN groaned out in annoyance from where he was currently hidden in your phone.

"This is taking forever, can't we just teleport up there?" He sighed out.

"Oh shut up BEN," Helen spat out, "You're not even walking like the rest of us, and our powers don't work here." Helen did have quite the point. In the area surrounding Zalgo's castle, certain powers were nullified unless you had his pact mark.

"We're nearly there anyway," Natalie spoke up. She had headed off before all of you to scout and make sure you wouldn't hit trouble on the way up. As you reached the peak of the stairs BEN finally emerged from your phone to stand beside all of you. Walking up to the gate, you all hesitated. Before you could speak, a loud booming voice surrounded all of you.

"Awfully brave of you all to tread right into enemy territory." You felt shivers run down your spine from the deep timbre of his voice, the demonic tone setting you on edge. You took a deep breath and spoke.

"We need to speak to you about Slender." Your voice was firm, and he chuckled, dark and low enough to make your body tremble. The others stood firm beside you.

"What, you can't just ask your dearest Slender any questions you might have? Why would you walk into my lair?" His voice had a certain tone to it that you couldn't pick out, so you continued on.

"It's a question that only you can answer." He went silent for a moment, and then the gate swung open. 

"I hope you come to not regret your decision." Someone dashed out of the front door of the castle, one of his proxies, and they guided you inside. You all were led to a wide-open room, and resting inside the room on a grand throne, was Zalgo himself. 

"To say I wasn't expecting you would certainly be a lie." You were hoping his voice would be less powerful in person, but standing before him his intimidation had only increased tenfold.

"What do you mean it would be a lie?" Jane spoke up, moving to stand beside you. He smirked down at her and leaned forward in his seat to look down upon all of you.

"I didn't think you were aware of it, and it appears that I was correct in that assumption. That day you were in the library you discovered a photo, and I was in that photo." You, Jane, and Jeff all shifted nervously at his statement. "The photo has no control or power, but the book that it came from was a different story. The book linked itself to you, and in turn, allowed me to watch you."

"So, you were just spying on us?" Jeff tried to keep his voice even and not anger Zalgo, but it seemed his upsetness only spurred the large demon on even more. 

"In a way, yes. It made me aware of what you're all doing. This little charade you have going on to blindside Slender." He gestured amongst all of you. "You've all come quite far, haven't you? To gain this much knowledge. Some say that knowledge is strength, but how are you going to use that knowledge against him?" He leaned back in his throne. "Surely you all have a plan to beat him." You swallowed.

"That's one of the things we wanted to ask you." He hummed at your statement. "But, most importantly, we wanted to ask why you stopped being friends with him." The look he gave you made you want to curl into yourself and disappear, and you were severely on guard, as were the others. 

"Why we stopped being friends? Let's get one thing straight, child. We were never friends." His anger was radiating off of him, and you had to try not to cry under the pressure of his voice. "We were only ever business partners. We were originally working together before we separated."

"Why did you separate?" You questioned, and he sighed.

"Slender and I wanted different things. We both crave power, of course, but we go about getting it in different ways. I haven't changed the way I've gone after power, for I have no need to. My methods get me my power fast and easy, but he, of course, takes the long way around it." 

"How do you get your power?" You regretted asking that question the minute after you asked it, the dark smile he sent you, showing off all of his fangs, immediately made you feel like a small mouse standing below a roaring lion. 

"How do we get our power? Oh, you sweet sweet child." He chuckled darkly. "We gain power by consuming other species. Humans, other demons, angels. No matter what species, if we can chew it and digest it, it only serves to make us stronger." He was certainly correct about saying that you should wish you wouldn't go on to regret asking your question. It seemed that everyone else standing beside you felt the same sickness come over them. He stood from his throne and descended the stairs, turning to walk along the wall where there were portraits hanging of groups of people.

"We used to keep the same proxies. I valued keeping the same proxies, training them to the best of their abilities, and keeping them. Slender- He didn't think the same way. You see, when the thing that you're consuming adores you, when it values you, you gain more power from it. Of course, you can gain the same amount of power from quickly eating a large amount as you do from spending time turning them into a family. I prefer quickly eating them as it takes less time. Slender prefers turning them into a family." He was smirking at you but you could tell he was angry.

"So.. So you stopped working with him because he was eating them?" He hummed again, staring into a certain portrait. A portrait that looked identical to the photo he had been captured in.

"Yes, and no. You see, he wasn't just eating them. He was extracting them. He was killing them and melting them down, and then he was extracting their love for him and fusing them into crystals. Those crystals give him power." Your eyes went wide at that, as you recalled the crystals BEN had been using on all of you in the group. Zalgo took the portrait down from the wall and revealed a pulsing red crystal hidden from behind it. 

"This was the crystal formed from the family in that photo. I had stolen it from him when I left. It's the strongest crystal remaining, as it's from the family he put the most amount of time into. Well, at least until he met all of you." He looked at your group and you all felt distraught. 

The reason why he hid your memories, the reason why he put so much effort into all of you. It was because he was trying to make you love him as much as possible. Some of you were crying. You could feel tears falling down your own face. You wanted to scream, you wanted to bawl, you wanted to kill him. That was the strongest feeling pulsing out of your group, that you all wanted to kill him. 

"How can we kill him?" Natalie questioned him, her voice laced with anger and betrayal. Zalgo looked all of you over, looking for something, and he seemed to find it.

"You need to break all of the crystals, and once you've done that, break all of your pacts. Once you've done that he'll be weak enough if all of you go for him at once." He walked towards you, and while everyone was on edge, he stopped in front of you. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he hesitated.

"I have been waiting for thousands of years for this. If you fail, if he doesn't kill you, then I will." You nodded at him, and he handed you the crystal. "Do your best. You will only have one chance."


	22. The Map

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Don't suppose you could give up more help this time, rather than just sending us on a wild goose chase?" LJ pipped up, glancing at her in a teasing manner, although his eyes showed his seriousness. She sent him a daring look from where she was perched upon your counter.
> 
> "That I can, in fact, I have a gift for all of you," She pulled out a map, and held it up for all of you to see, "This right here is a map to all of the crystals. If you look right here," She pointed to a glowing red dot, "That is the crystal that you all have in your possession already. The remaining dots," she gestured across the map at glowing blue, pink, green, purple, and yellow dots, "are the remaining crystals." She handed you the map, and once you had a hold of it a small black dot appeared next to the red dot to signify your location, and the other dots disappeared.
> 
> "Where did the other ones go?" Sally asked, glancing up from the map to look at Cherry.
> 
> "They aren't up here," She gestured to your backyard, "They're in the Underworld. You'll have to go down there to find them." Sally hummed and looked back down at the map again.

You all finally had your game plan- but now, all you needed was to execute it. You needed to somehow convince the proxies to join you, and you would have to locate all of the other crystals. Zalgo had informed you that there were five other crystals, the one he gave you is the sixth of them all. As your group made it back to your place that night, you had all discovered someone waiting there for you.

"Well done, well done, well done!" Cherry cheerfully yelled out for all of you, "I just knew you could do it, pumpkin! Now all you've gotta do is find those crystals!" A few of your new members were confused at who Cherry was, especially Natalie, who immediately went 'Who the fuck is this bitch?' upon meeting her, although you were quick to introduce her.

"Don't suppose you could give up more help this time, rather than just sending us on a wild goose chase?" LJ pipped up, glancing at her in a teasing manner, although his eyes showed his seriousness. She sent him a daring look from where she was perched upon your counter.

"That I can, in fact, I have a gift for all of you," She pulled out a map, and held it up for all of you to see, "This right here is a map to all of the crystals. If you look right here," She pointed to a glowing red dot, "That is the crystal that you all have in your possession already. The remaining dots," she gestured across the map at glowing blue, pink, green, purple, and yellow dots, "are the remaining crystals." She handed you the map, and once you had a hold of it a small black dot appeared next to the red dot to signify your location, and the other dots disappeared.

"Where did the other ones go?" Sally asked, glancing up from the map to look at Cherry.

"They aren't up here," She gestured to your backyard, "They're in the Underworld. You'll have to go down there to find them." Sally hummed and looked back down at the map again.

"Any clues to where they are on the map?" Jane questioned, peeking over your shoulder to glance down at the parchment.

"The blue one is located within a cave, the pink one is located within an abandoned building, the green one is located underwater, the purple one is located within a body dump, and the yellow one..." she hesitated, "The yellow one is located within the mansion." Great.

"A body dump?" Jane asked her, disgusted at the answer given.

"Yes! A body dump! After all, not everyone can just burn away their corpses as you all do! Although, as gross as that is, don't worry, for you won't have to go sorting through the hundreds of bodies- Instead, when you have four of the crystals already, the purple crystal will reveal itself with a bright glow when you're in its presence." That didn't make the location any better, but it certainly made finding it a whole lot easier. 

"What about the one in the mansion?" Jeff asked her, leaning into you to have his turn looking at the map. Cherry hummed at him and smiled.

"Well, you'll certainly want to be careful with that one. The crystal in the mansion is hidden where none have tread before." She informed you all, with a ghostly tone of voice and a laugh as she waved her fingers. 

"Is Slender going to be aware of us taking the crystals?" EJ spoke up, from the corner of the room where he had been patiently watching throughout the duration of her explanations. She shook her head and winked at him.

"Such a smart cookie you are, asking something like that! But no, dearest, he isn't going to be aware. The only time he even knows the location of the crystals is if one of them is to end up breaking, so I would make sure to be careful about when you go about shattering them." 

"What else happens when we break the crystals?" You asked her, finally folding up the map and holding it tightly in your grasp.

"Slender will get weaker with every crystal break. Almost all of you are aware of the pain that comes from a pact mark shrinking," a few of those in the room shivered in remembrance, "He experiences that pain as well. The pain is stronger depending on the power hidden within the crystal."

"Which crystals are the strongest ones?" Helen questioned her from where he had been pacing around your kitchen.

"Starting with the strongest, that would be red, yellow, green, blue, purple, and pink. Although, of course, you should all be lucky that pumpkin was able to make you all aware of what's happening, because you all would have been turned into an even stronger crystal than that of the red one." Her tail swished behind her excitedly as she waved it around above herself.

"When should we break the crystals?" You asked her, taking the red crystal from your bag, glancing down at the shining red hue it let off, resting between your palms. 

"You'll want to break all of your pacts first, and then make sure that you have all six within your care first. After that, you'll want to break them one by one. It doesn't work if you break them all at once." 

"How do we break our pacts?" Puppeteer questioned her, staring irritatedly down at his own pact mark, eyes clouded with disgust. She laughed at that question.

"It's not something any of you are about to do. When the one bound closest to Slender wishes to cast him off, all of you will then be free from his grasp and able to take him down." You all thought silently for a moment, taking in her words. It was obviously guaranteed that it was a proxy that would be the closest to Slender, but finding out which proxy it was and getting them to betray him would be quite the event you would need to pull off. 

"I wish you all the best of luck. After all, we're all counting on you." Her tail swiped around in front of her, and she was gone. Who was counting on all of you? You were all nervous to find out. At least now, however, you could start collecting the crystals. You'd just have to hope that nobody else tried to interfere with the process.


	23. The Cave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Left up here." You alerted Jeff, reminding both of you of the fact that the purple crystal shouldn't be the one on your mind right now. You both took a left through a smaller hole in the wall, and you almost jumped back in fear at the sudden fluttering noises. Glancing above you, you saw what appeared to be bats, but your breath was taken away at their appearance, shining in neon colors and flying gracefully through the air.
> 
> "Now that's not something you'd see up above, is it?" Jeff quietly said into your ear, sending shivers down your spine as he sent you a half-lidded glance. 
> 
> "Definitely not." You whispered back, looking up at the creatures another time as they swooped down past the two of you and out the hole you had just walked through, a look of wonder dancing across your face that had Jeff staring at you in adoration. After watching them fly away, the two of you resumed your trek forward through the cave. The two of you came to a rocky landing, and as the two of you went to cross it part of the landing broke off underneath you. Jeff stumbled forwards and knocked into you, causing the two of you to fall across the gap, Jeff landing on top of you.

After talking about it for a bit, all of you decided that you would pursue the crystals in smaller groups, that way you could knock them out faster. Luckily, Cherry had left you instructions on how to make copies of the map, so you all decided to split into three groups to locate three of the crystals so that you could find the purple one. You and Jeff would be going after the blue crystal, Jane, and Smiley would be going after the pink crystal, and EJ and Natalie would be going after the green crystal. Having decided your groups, you all would be setting off at different times of the day, starting with you and Jeff first thing the next morning.

. . .

You sighed out as you trudged through all of the brush and tall branches, trying not to tear or lose the map in the process. Looking for a cave normally wouldn't be too bothersome, but now that you were doing it in the Underworld, where there were dangerous creatures and deadly plants, to say you were a bit nervous would be an understatement. It also didn't help when Jane had come over that morning to walk you through using a gun for safety measures, but Jeff assured you he would also be there to keep you safe throughout your journey. 

"Don't worry, we're almost there Dollface, just a couple more minutes at most." Jeff tried to reassure you, rubbing your back as you walked.

"It's not just getting there that I'm worried about, it's what will happen when we're inside of it that matters too." He grunted at your answer, and after a few moments, just as he had said, you were now face to face with the entrance to the cave. The top of the entrance stretched up to at least 20 feet at its highest mark, although it was mostly rock, and you would both still have to duck a bit to enter. You both switched on your headlamps and took a deep breath before entering. The map was showing the crystal's location to be north of the entrance, and so you routed yourselves with the compass Jeff brought along. 

"I'd be fine not having to smell this ever again." You stated as you went deeper into the cave. The scent of must and death filled your noses, and it only heightened your fear for what might be lurking within the walls.

"You think this smells, you better hope you don't end up being in the purple group. Body dumps are just about the worst smelling thing you'll ever come across." He looked disgusted about his statement, obviously speaking from experience.

You all agreed to draw for who would end up going to the body dump because nobody wanted to willingly agree to go. The body dumps all had specific locations in the Underworld for usage by the various assassins throughout it. They were all known for being overrun by hundreds to thousands of bodies depending on which one you went to. The smell of rotting corpses wafting off of them to even several miles away from them. Witches ended up being hired to cast spells on them to contain the smell, or so you had been told. Not that it mattered once you got to the dump itself.

"Left up here." You alerted Jeff, reminding both of you of the fact that the purple crystal shouldn't be the one on your mind right now. You both took a left through a smaller hole in the wall, and you almost jumped back in fear at the sudden fluttering noises. Glancing above you, you saw what appeared to be bats, but your breath was taken away at their appearance, shining in neon colors and flying gracefully through the air.

"Now that's not something you'd see up above, is it?" Jeff quietly said into your ear, sending shivers down your spine as he sent you a half-lidded glance. 

"Definitely not." You whispered back, looking up at the creatures another time as they swooped down past the two of you and out the hole you had just walked through, a look of wonder dancing across your face that had Jeff staring at you in adoration. After watching them fly away, the two of you resumed your trek forward through the cave. The two of you came to a rocky landing, and as the two of you went to cross it part of the landing broke off underneath you. Jeff stumbled forwards and knocked into you, causing the two of you to fall across the gap, Jeff landing on top of you.

"Well, that could've ended badly." Jeff wheezed out on top of you, out of breath from the shock and collision. You chuckled and leaned your head back on the cool ground below you.

"Yes, it could have. You're not allowed to die and leave me alone in some strange cave." You teased him, thumping him on the forehead. 

"Well, right back at ya. You aren't allowed to die on me either." While you were joking around, there was a hint of seriousness and desperation in his voice. You moved your hands to cup his face and he leaned into your touch.

"Jeff, we will make it out of this alive. I'm not going to leave you alone. You're not going to leave me alone. We're going to live through this and grow old and annoying together." He chuckled a bit and appeared to be blinking back tears.

"Can we have a big front yard so that I can yell at people to get the fuck off of it?" You laughed and nodded your head.

"We can have a huge front yard, and I'll even get you a megaphone for louder yelling if you need it." The two of you were a mess of giggles, calming each other down from the fear you had inside of yourselves. Jeff hummed and glanced down at you with a smirk.

"Ya ever made out in a cave before?" He wiggled his eyebrows at you, and you teasingly hummed at him.

"I can't say that I have." You moved your hands to thread them into his hair and pulled him down for a few kisses. He sighed out as he relaxed into your body, and he broke away to press a multitude of kisses around your jaw and neck.

"Feeling better now?" You questioned him, stroking along the back of his neck. 

"Yes. Let's get this shit done and get the fuck out of here." He rose from where he was hovering above you and pulled you up along with him. The two of you traversed the cave much faster after your mishap, and eventually, the two of you came to a large door. Walking up to it, you hesitantly pushed on it, the lock on it rusted from age, cracking off of the door allowing it to slide open.

Resting in the center of the area was a pedestal, and perched on top of it was a beautifully ornate crystal. While the red crystal was jagged without decoration, the blue one seemed carefully crafted and was decorated by glowing metal vines wrapped around it. You hesitantly reached out and grasped it, and as you held it in your palms the light intensified, and images flashed through your mind. There were people you didn't know, and in some frames, they were smiling, laughing, taking care of each other. However, in the last ones, they were crying, screaming out for help, covered in blood, and laying on top of each other, begging for help. These were the memories of them as they died.

"Hey! Hey!" You suddenly heard Jeff's voice and realized he was shaking you, looking at you with concern. It was then that you noticed you were crying, and you quickly wiped your eyes and apologized to him.

"What happened to you?" He asked you, pulling you into him and holding onto you.

"I saw them. Their memories, how Slender had killed them- The crystal showed me it. They were so happy Jeff, and then he- he..." You couldn't finish your sentence, choking as you cried out gasping for air. He shushed you, stroking your back and pressing kisses to your head. 

"Don't worry. We aren't going to let him do that to anyone else." He calmly told you, and he slowly began to pull you back towards the exit. You slipped the crystal carefully into your backpack and began to stride after him as the two of you left. Neither of you encountered anything on your way out and back home, but somewhere, Slender was suddenly recalling memories he had long forgotten.


	24. The Building

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I may have let you get away the first time, but I'm not gonna let you live this time. The boss called me in this morning and said he has some vermin that need to be exterminated, and I'm glad to do that job." He leered down at her body and smirked, and she scoffed at him. "Maybe I can have some fun with you before I finish you off." He licked his lips, and she spit into his eyes, causing him to curse and look away.
> 
> "Sorry, jackass, but I don't swing that way." She kneed him in the ribs and he backed off of her a bit. She kicked him again, this time nailing his dick and he grunted out, leaning off of her more. She pulled out a knife and slashed at him, digging in deep to his cheek. 
> 
> "Well, now I have to kill you because your face just reminds me a bit too much of a guy I don't like." She taunted him and he rose to his feet, spitting blood out of his mouth and glaring right back at her, whipping out a knife of his own.
> 
> "You stupid bitch..." He spit out again, and she laughed, readying her blade and taking on a fighting stance. 
> 
> "Aww, is that all the baby can come up with?" She smirked at him this time, and he lunged at her. She blocked his advance and the two of them continued to go back and forth.

Jane and Smiley were the next group, setting off midday after lunch. They packed their bags and snuck out, making way for the abandoned building they were supposedly going to find a crystal residing in. Jane was much more suspicious of how smoothly this would go, but Smiley seemed content to just be along for the ride. The two of them were currently driving most of the way, as the building itself was in an abandoned city district. 

"Surprised Slender would leave it somewhere this accessible." Jane mused to herself as Smiley pulled the car off to the side of the road. 

"Well, we've been learning for the last two years that he's quite full of surprises, haven't we? What's this one top of all that." He hopped out of the car and began making his way through the city, Jane jogging after him to keep up. 

"It's oddly quiet here, even for an abandoned city." Jane looked around suspiciously at their surroundings. Normally if a city was abandoned in the Underworld it was overrun with stragglers and animals, but there weren't even insects floating around here. The lack of signs of life seemed much too suspicious and Smiley's easy-going nature did little to settle Jane's nerves. 

"Well, I guess it's a good thing we brought these then, isn't it?" Smiley questioned her with a smirk, gesturing to all of the varying weapons that they had made sure to bring with them. "If someone decides to fuck with us we can show them who's boss." He teased her, and she scoffed but moved a bit closer to him as they walked. 

The two of them continued to follow the map, and it ended up leading them to the tallest building left in the town, and the one furthest from the rest of the city. The two of them reluctantly agreed to split up for sake of covering ground faster. Smiley would take the lower floors and the basement, and Jane would maker her way up to the top floor. As she hesitantly crossed the upper floors, she began to grow a bit more confident. 

She continued to climb and check the individual rooms, some of which still had furniture, some of which were completely empty. As she jogged up the stairs, she learned she had to be careful as some of the stairs broke under her weight from old age. As she finally made it to the top floor, she was shocked to be slammed into the wall before turning the final doorknob. As she glanced up, she narrowed her eyes in anger at her assailant. 

"Well, well, well, look at what we have here." The man pinning her to the wall was none other than the man that had tried to previously assassinate her the last time after Jack had told her about the traitor.

"Well, well, well, look at what we have here. A shitshow assassin that can't even kill his targets." She glared at him and he chuckled darkly as he pushed her tightly into the wall. 

"I may have let you get away the first time, but I'm not gonna let you live this time. The boss called me in this morning and said he has some vermin that need to be exterminated, and I'm glad to do that job." He leered down at her body and smirked, and she scoffed at him. "Maybe I can have some fun with you before I finish you off." He licked his lips, and she spit into his eyes, causing him to curse and look away.

"Sorry, jackass, but I don't swing that way." She kneed him in the ribs and he backed off of her a bit. She kicked him again, this time nailing his dick and he grunted out, leaning off of her more. She pulled out a knife and slashed at him, digging in deep to his cheek. 

"Well, now I have to kill you because your face just reminds me a bit too much of a guy I don't like." She taunted him and he rose to his feet, spitting blood out of his mouth and glaring right back at her, whipping out a knife of his own.

"You stupid bitch..." He spit out again, and she laughed, readying her blade and taking on a fighting stance. 

"Aww, is that all the baby can come up with?" She smirked at him this time, and he lunged at her. She blocked his advance and the two of them continued to go back and forth. He got in a slash on her arm, and she hissed out at him as he tried to come in close. She allowed him to come in close and as she ducked low she jabbed her knife directly through his stomach, and she jammed so hard it ended up going into his spine, causing him to gasp out and shiver on top of her.

"I want you to listen to me and listen good," he moved his eyes to look down at her, "You only almost got me the first time because you caught me off guard," she pulled the knife out and jammed it back in again, "But you, and that asshole Slender can't beat us. Especially when we're all working together. You're all just worthless shit compared to us." Her eyes were vibrant and full of anger, and he tried to speak.

She pulled her knife out again and stabbed it into his chest, causing him to choke out yet again. She finally pulled the knife out of him and pulled away from him and he tried to move towards her. She hummed, pouted at him, and then slammed her knife through his face, causing him to fall back and over a railing, and she watched as he fell to the first floor, slamming into the ground there with an audible crack. Shortly after he landed, Smiley poked his head out and shook his head at her.

"Look at you now, and you were nervous to even be here." He shouted up at her. 

"Well, maybe it wouldn't have been as bad if we hadn't split up." She shouted back. Smiley made his way up to her and helped her clean up the bleeding gash resting on her arm. The two of them then opened the last door and saw the pink crystal resting on a pedestal inside of it, just as you said it might be. 

You and Jeff had warned everyone about the memories, and so the others agreed to take gloves with them so as to not unlock said memories, and Smiley and Jane moved the flower shaped pink crystal into a backpack they had brought. They began to make their way back to the car, not before jane spit on the assassin's corpse one more time of course, and the two of them went home together in peace.


	25. The Lake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "N-Natalie! What a-are you doing out here?" Toby called out, jogging up to her from the woods. She took a deep breath before turning to smile at him as he made his way over.
> 
> "EJ and I were hanging out, and I ended up chucking something into the lake. Went to skip a rock and I used the wrong hand! Jack offered to go get it, as he's able to hold his breath underwater." She laughed out, shrugging her arms and he laughed along with her.
> 
> "I-I gotcha! I've been there before." He smiled at her and continued to make small chat with her as she kept him distracted. On Jack's end of things, he was making his way down to the deepest part of the lake.
> 
> As he swam deeper and deeper, he ended up finding a small alcove at the bottom of the lake. Swimming into it, he found the thing he was looking for. Resting in the water was the green crystal, carved into the shape of a tree and shining brilliantly like spring foliage as it rested in its case. He went to reach out for it but jerked back as a creature shot out from behind the case to grasp onto him. It was shaped like a snake, but going from the glowing stone resting upon its head it seemed it was put in place to guard the crystal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tomorrow's chapter will be a special chapter devoted to MC and Jeff.
> 
> It will contain smut, but if you'd like to skip the smut there will be a bit of regular writing at the beginning so that there is still something there for you all to read.

Jane and Smiley returned to the mansion without much incident, and Jane was certainly having a fun time when she had gotten home. Slender was expecting her to be dead, for the second time, but when she strutted through the front doors giddy as a kid in a candy shop it was then Slender's turn to play the actor.

"Well, Jane, Smiley, good to see you all made it back home safe and sound." He told them as they walked through the door. He seemed to be greeting them with his normal happiness, but as they knew to look for it, it was quite obvious he was irked about something, that something being Jane living.

"We're glad to be home. We were able to get a particularly rare dessert on the way home!" Jane responded to him, all smiles and cheer as she lifted a dessert bag. Of course, most of the other creeps knew that extended further than the treat bag, and Jane had alerted them that would be her code for returning the pink crystal to you at your house. Slender hummed at that and then went about his business. 

"Good job finding that dessert." LJ congratulated her, being mindful of the fact that Tim was residing in the room as well.

"Thank you, it wasn't the easiest, you know, competitors trying to prevent you from getting the delicious treat." She told him in kind, and he seemed to grasp her point. Slender was still sending out assassins, and there was no telling who could pop in on Natalie and EJ when they made their way to the underwater crystal later that evening. 

. . .

Natalie and Jack agreed to meet up after work that night, so as to not draw too much more suspicion as they would have already been out of the house anyway. The two of them met up at the edge of the woods and made their way to the lake, the lake that happened to be 15 minutes from the mansion. If they weren't careful, they would very well get caught. Of course, it made sense that it was so close, as he would want to keep the stronger crystals closer to him. 

The two of them had a backup plan on the chance that one of the proxies or Slender walked in on them, and that would be that Natalie had accidentally tossed something into the lake, and Jack had offered to go find it. To cement that, Natalie had given him one of her knives to keep on him for his return. They seemed to be quite lucky for that because as Natalie was pacing back and forth on the shore, she heard a voice call out to her.

"N-Natalie! What a-are you doing out here?" Toby called out, jogging up to her from the woods. She took a deep breath before turning to smile at him as he made his way over.

"EJ and I were hanging out, and I ended up chucking something into the lake. Went to skip a rock and I used the wrong hand! Jack offered to go get it, as he's able to hold his breath underwater." She laughed out, shrugging her arms and he laughed along with her.

"I-I gotcha! I've been there before." He smiled at her and continued to make small chat with her as she kept him distracted. On Jack's end of things, he was making his way down to the deepest part of the lake.

As he swam deeper and deeper, he ended up finding a small alcove at the bottom of the lake. Swimming into it, he found the thing he was looking for. Resting in the water was the green crystal, carved into the shape of a tree and shining brilliantly like spring foliage as it rested in its case. He went to reach out for it but jerked back as a creature shot out from behind the case to grasp onto him. It was shaped like a snake, but going from the glowing stone resting upon its head it seemed it was put in place to guard the crystal. 

Jack struggled with the snake for a bit, before taking out Natalie's knife and sinking it through the small gem resting upon its head, and he watched as all the shining color faded from the snake and it became limp in the water. Jack shook it off of him and went back to his original goal. He, using his gloved hands, carefully removed the crystal from its case, and into another holder in his backpack. Having obtained the goal, he made his way up, where he saw Natalie talking with Toby on the shoreline. 

"I secured the package," Jack told Natalie as he handed her the knife, and she smiled, thanking him for finding it, understanding what he really meant. Jack turned and greeted Toby, and the three of them began to make their way out of the clearing. 

"I di-didn't know you c-could breathe underwater Jack!" Toby shouted out in amazement as they began making their way back to the mansion.

"Ah, yeah. It's not so much breathing, but I can hold my breath for up to 15 minutes. I'm assuming it a demon thing." He responded back, and Toby began to eagerly question him about his powers. Natalie made mock shock and said that she had forgotten to do something work-related. She asked Jack if she could borrow his backpack, and then she bid both of the boys goodnight as she left in the opposite direction. When she was sure she wasn't being followed, she began to make her way back to your house.

"He got it," Natalie stated, sliding open your sliding door and finding you and Jeff resting in the kitchen, waiting for them. She handed you the container the crystal was in, and you opened it so you could all make sure it was correct, oohing at the beauty of the crystal.

"Now we've got four of them down." You hummed out, closing the case. "Now we can go get the purple one before we risk going for yellow." Natalie stretched and went to walk back out the door.

"I'll tell BEN to alert the others when I get back to the mansion. We can draw for slots on who's going in a few days. After all," she winked at you and Jeff, "The two of you wanted a break tomorrow right? Enjoy yourselves." She laughed as Jeff told her to fuck off, and told both fo you goodnight as she left. 

She did have a point, however, and even you teased Jeff a bit as you went to hide the green crystal with the other three you had. Tomorrow would be your two year anniversary, and the two of you wanted to devote a day to it. You didn't know how much longer the good times would last, and you wanted to have time for yourselves, for as long as you could. The two of you went to bed shortly after, wanting to be well-rested for the following day to come.


	26. Two Year Anniversary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When you awoke the next morning, it was to the smell of freshly cooked pancakes floating through the air. As you sat up stretched, getting ready to get up and head out to the kitchen, Jeff gently nudged open your door and carried in with him a tray of pancakes and juice. He sighed as he saw you sitting up, watching him with interest.
> 
> "I wanted to surprise ya, but of course, you're already awake, huh?" He teasingly clicked his tongue at you and shook his head as he crawled into bed next to you. You giggled and accepted your tray from him. 
> 
> "Oh, but what's the occasion, for such a handsome man to treat me to home-cooked breakfast?" You asked him dramatically, jokingly puffing up your chest, resting your hand upon it.
> 
> "Oh, there's just this person that I've been seeing for a while, and today is a very special day for us." He responded dramatically as well, taking a piece of his pancake and dramatically chewing.
> 
> "Oh? Someone special huh?" You took a swig of your juice, "They must be very important to you, aren't they?" You hummed, taking a bite of your own pancake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the smut, no genitals are identified for MC, so that it remains gender-neutral. Smut is under the cut . . . if you'd like to skip it.

When you awoke the next morning, it was to the smell of freshly cooked pancakes floating through the air. As you sat up stretched, getting ready to get up and head out to the kitchen, Jeff gently nudged open your door and carried in with him a tray of pancakes and juice. He sighed as he saw you sitting up, watching him with interest.

"I wanted to surprise ya, but of course, you're already awake, huh?" He teasingly clicked his tongue at you and shook his head as he crawled into bed next to you. You giggled and accepted your tray from him. 

"Oh, but what's the occasion, for such a handsome man to treat me to home-cooked breakfast?" You asked him dramatically, jokingly puffing up your chest, resting your hand upon it.

"Oh, there's just this person that I've been seeing for a while, and today is a very special day for us." He responded dramatically as well, taking a piece of his pancake and dramatically chewing.

"Oh? Someone special huh?" You took a swig of your juice, "They must be very important to you, aren't they?" You hummed, taking a bite of your own pancake.

"They most definitely are. They're the most important person in my life, and I don't know what I would do without them." He was still teasing you, but you could tell from the tone of his voice that he was being serious about what he was saying. You pulled him close, and pressed a few sensual kisses upon his lips, pulling away with a soft smile.

"Well, I bet that special someone feels the exact same way about you." You shared a few more kisses and then resumed eating your breakfast together, snuggled up under your covers.

"So, is this special someone good looking?" You teasingly asked him, smirking and quirking an eyebrow. He hummed, shoving a giant chunk of pancake into his mouth.

"I mean, they're okay I guess." He told you in a bored tone, and when you scoffed he laughed out, almost choking on the bite of pancake.

"Wow, okay, I see how it is!" You looked away from him and crossed your arms, and he chuckled, pressing kisses to your shoulder.

"They're the most attractive person I've ever met." He whispered softly into your ear, and you shivered, causing him to chuckle again.

"Do... Do you really mean that?" You turned to look at him, and insecurity was shining in your eyes. He pressed a kiss to your brow, silently telling you not to worry, and he pulled back and gave you one of the genuine smiles he saved for only you.

"Really. I've never felt so attracted to someone before, and I'm certainly not going to give you up." He gave you another kiss and then hopped up from your bed.

"Now, hurry and get dressed so we can get this party started." He struck a sassy pose in your doorway and then left to get changed himself, leaving you a giggling mess in your bed. The two of you left the house together and embarked on your journey for the day, starting with going through a shopping district and browsing through some stores.

The two of you browsed through a few shops and ended up stopping in a jewelry shop that had caught your attention. The two of you looked around and ended up finding something both of you wanted. It was a pair of couples rings, and while they weren't engagement rings, not yet, the two of you felt a certain pull to the rings, and you purchased them in earnest, bearing them proudly as you walked together. 

Your next stop had been an ice cream parlor, the same one that you had gone to with Jeff shortly after you had met each other. The two of you spent a few hours there, talking and tasting various sweet treats, before moving on to get lunch to go, and spending another few hours exploring around a park. Your final stop together on your special day out was to stop somewhere and have a meal together. The special place, of course, was the bar that the two of you frequented, the one where you had first begun dating.

"Thank you," Jeff told you suddenly, as he was digging into his dinner, and you tilted your head to the side questioningly at him. 

"For what?" You ate some of your own dinner, and you couldn't help but smile at him, sensing his bashful nature.

"For...," He hesitated, gathering his words, "For standing by me. For supporting me, and trying to help everyone else and myself. For putting up with me and all of my issues, my past, for helping me to cope with all of those things. Thank you for loving me." You felt yourself tearing up at his declaration, and you reached your hand across the table to grasp his.

"There's no one I would rather have spent the last two years with, Jeff. I mean, it's certainly been crazy and unusual, and certainly hasn't been easy, but I have never felt so happy and loved than I have with you and the others." The two of you smiled and leaned across the table to share a kiss. You finished your dinner in happy discussions, and the two of you certainly rushed to get home in excitement, as there had been something else that the two of you had been discussing and looking forward to over the last few months.

. . .

The minute the two of you crossed your front door, you were both all over each other, kissing and rubbing and grasping each other as though your lives depended on it. You giggled through your kisses, laughing at each other as you stumbled around, trying to remove your shoes. Jeff lifted you, having you wrap your legs around his waist as he carried you to your bedroom. You giggled deep in your throat as he carried you quickly, almost bumping you into the door.

"For someone who said they're not an easy lay when we first met, you sure are excited." He grunted out as you began sucking kisses into his neck as he finally got your door open and went to lay you down on your bed.

"Hey, it wasn't easy for you to get to this stage, was it?" He pulled away from you, pulling off his shirt and giving you an eyeful of his muscles as he did so, you licking your lips in anticipation as he smirked down at you. He began shucking off his jeans, and you began to remove your own clothing as well. The two of you were soon bared in front of each other, and faced with the sudden realization, you went to cover yourself, but Jeff quickly leaned over you and held your hands above your head.

"Don't hide yourself from me, I want to see all of you." You timidly looked away for a moment, and when you looked back at him you were expecting him to be looking at you in judgment, but instead, you were faced with his eyes looking all over your body, taking in every detail with lust stricken eyes. 

"You look amazing..." He whispered, before leaning down and capturing your lips in a searing kiss. He worked his mouth over yours, moaning out as you threaded your fingers through his hair and tugged on the long strands. You remembered his reaction to pain when you'd first met him, and tugged harder on his hair, causing him to moan out again, and you could feel his dick twitching against your inner thigh. You smirked against his lips and he pulled away to glare down at you.

"Don't start something you won't be able to finish." He told you in a dark voice, moving to bite into your neck, causing you to gasp out and shiver below him. He bit, and licked, and sucked, leaving marks all over your neck as you gasped and moaned out below him. 

One particularly good suck had you bucking up into him, and he groaned out as you pressed against his dick. He slid his hands along your body, placing them on either side of your thighs, spreading you open. He moved his mouth down your body, kissing and sucking around your chest and nipples as he began to tease your entrance with his fingers, causing you to shudder against him.

"Let me know if I get to rough," He mumbled against your body, slipping in one finger at first, pumping it in and out of you slowly, curling it around to find your good spots. You moaned and shuddered against him, bucking into his hand as he slipped a second digit inside you.

"Jeff, that, ah- that feels good." You groaned out as he pressed a trail of kisses back up your neck. As you wrapped your arms around him he smirked into your skin, picking up his pace as he continued to finger you.

"Yeah, baby? Does that feel good?" His voice was low and deep, and he let out a few chuckles that had you whimpering below him as he sucked a particularly dark mark into your nape. You dug your nails into his back and dragged them upwards, and that had him shivering and moaning out above you.

"Feeling awful brave and naughty tonight, aren't we?" He teased you, and you smirked at him from below, your own eyes particularly full of lust as well.

"Maybe I am." You shifted underneath him and reached down to grasp his dick, tugging on it teasingly as he groaned above you, thrusting into your hand. You got a firmer grip on him, tightening up every time you would reach his base, and he buried his face into your neck, panting out as he scissored you with his fingers.

"Jeff..." You moaned out, bucking up into him again, "I want you, I need you to fuck me..." He groaned loudly, his hips stuttering as he fucked into your hand.

"Are you sure?" He asked you, pulling away to look into your eyes, concern written all over his face. You smiled up at him and nodded, pulling him down for a kiss which both of you groaned into.

"I'm very ready." You told him, pulling away from him and leaning back against your bed. He took a deep breath and adjusted himself, planting himself between your legs and gently pressing himself into you, cursing at how tight you were. He slowly bottomed out inside you and held onto your hands as he gave you time to adjust. After a few moments of him kissing your neck and whispering sweet nothings into your ear, you nodded.

"I'm ready." You looked into his eyes, and when he had your confirmation, he began to slowly pump himself in and out of you, grunting into your neck as both of you got used to the feeling. You moaned out, tears falling down your face as any pain you had felt turned into blinding pleasure at the feeling. 

"I love you... I love you so much.." You moaned out, panting underneath him and you dug your fingers into his hair again, trying to grasp onto him, onto anything to stay grounded in reality. He pulled back to look at you as he picked up his pace, moaning and panting as he looked down at you with nothing but love and adoration written across his eyes.

"I love you too, I love you so fucking much..." You both moaned particularly loud as he found a new angle, one that felt so much better for both of you as he slammed his hips into yours. You pulled him down to you, reconnecting your lips again and moving your hips to meet his thrusts. After a few more moments your moans increased, and you moaned out that you were getting close.

"Come on angel, cum for me, cum for me, you can do it." He panted into your ears, and soon you were becoming unraveled underneath him, mouth agape, and eyes squeezed shut as you clenched around him, causing him to curse out and stutter his thrusts. 

"Oh, god.." He swallowed, choking on one of his moans, "I'm almost there too..." You moved to kiss along his neck, sucking in some marks of your own as he trembled above you.

"Please, cum inside me Jeff, give it to me, I want all of you so bad." Your words of encouragement had him shaking above you, his eyes struggling to stare down at you as he picked up his pace, and came hard inside you, his body collapsing as he tried to milk out his orgasm. He panted above you, and the two of you remained together like that for a few minutes as you both caught your breath.

"That- that was amazing!" You laughed out, turning to smile at him as he smiled at you as well. He agreed with you, but pulled back, much to your disappointment as you whined at him in protest.

"Gotta get you cleaned up in the shower he told you," pulling back and lifting you into his arms, "And maybe go for round two." He finished with a wink, as both of you laughed and headed for your shower. The two of you would have to get in all of the fun while you could, because, after all, neither of you were expecting what was to come within your future.


	27. Shattering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He agreed hesitantly, and the three of them reached out and touched the crystal at the same time. Toby's arm was shaking, and within minutes all three of them were crumpled on the ground, screaming out in pain. Tim pried off his shirt, and all of you could see his pact mark, which originally took up the entirety of his torso, now shrinking down and growing smaller. 
> 
> "What the fuck is this?" Tim shouted out, and you all explained to him how the pacts shrink when your trust breaks in Slender, about why you needed the crystals, about all your memories. Toby was crumpled up on the floor openly sobbing, the shock to his system too great as he had never felt pain before. 
> 
> "H-h-h-he l-lied?" Toby tried to get out, his body overcome with emotion. Brian moved to crouch next to him and tried comforting him. You all wanted to move to comfort him as well, but before you could there was another presence suddenly in the room.
> 
> "You all really just have no patience do you? No trust in anything. Just selfish desires." Slender was standing before all of you, in between you and the proxies, and none of you had ever heard his voice so devoid of emotion before.

Following your anniversary with Jeff, all of you drew lots the next day for who would be getting the purple crystal from the body dump, and those that got their names drawn were Helen, BEN, and of course, you. The three of you were very disappointed in the outcome, but it was a fair draw, and none of you had the right to complain about it. Cherry was even nice enough to drop by and leave you some masks that would work against the smell. The only downside? The masks would only work within the body dump.

. . .

You gagged for the thirtieth time and trudged forward with Helen and BEN. Helen himself looked insanely sick, and BEN had started crying moments ago. Helen had gotten mad at him for hiding in electronics on the way to Zalgo's, so none of you brought devices with you so BEN would have to suffer right alongside you.

"How much longer do we have to deal with this sickening fucking scent?" BEN questioned, his voice almost breaking from the tears going down his face. Helen grunted at his question and held his hand over his mouth.

"About... About two more minutes 'til we reach the entrance." Helen seemed to be holding back vomit, and you were right there with him. Jeff certainly wasn't exaggerating when he said this would be horrible, and you were beginning to regret not dragging him along here with you, that way he could suffer alongside you. As you began to see the towering gates that led to the entrance, all of you put on your masks and were elated to discover you could no longer smell the overwhelming stench of death.

Zalgo had snuck the three of you an entrance pass, and you all made your way into the dump without much issue. As you walked up to the edge of the main cliff you were meant to throw the bodies off of, you couldn't help but want to vomit yet again at the sight resting in front of you. Thousands of bodies, varying in species, mutilated and decaying. Helen rubbed your back reassuringly, and BEN leaned onto you, but if that was for his sake or yours you weren't sure. You pulled off your bag, and you pulled out the four of the crystals that you'd already had, although nothing had happened yet.

"Maybe we have to look at the memories? Like it's some sort of seal?" BEN piped up from your side, and the three of you exchanged nervous looks. 

"It's worth a shot," Helen said with a shrug, and each of you grabbed onto a crystal. BEN gasped out, and Helen felt his knees buckle beneath him as he fell to the ground beside you. You viewed the memories resting inside your chosen crystal, and while the happier memories were all different from the blue crystal, the way that they had died remained the same. Dozens of bodies being melted down in a pot, screaming to be let out. You snapped out of it first and went to comfort the boys beside you.

"Are you guys okay?" You questioned them, and they both nodded, trying to catch their breath and calm down.

"Well, you were certainly right when you said that was intense," Helen stated, and as you took his crystal back, and took back the one from BEN, all four of the crystals you had begun to glow brightly, powerfully lighting up within your hands. As they continued to glow, you looked out upon the sea of bodies, and soon, a bright purple glow was emitting from the center, and the purple stone drifted over to where you were sitting. As it fell into your hands, you were jolted in surprise at what you saw.

You weren't witnessing past memories, but instead, you were witnessing live memories. You could see Slender, and he was moving about. He was aware of what you had been doing, and he was preparing to guard the yellow crystal. He had the proxies stationed outside of it, although he was not in the mansion himself, he was at Zalgo's castle. As you came out of it, BEN and Helen were staring at you worriedly, and you told them what you had seen. BEN quickly pulled out a phone from his pocket and began calling the others.

"You brought a phone?!" Helen shouted out, and BEN shushed him.

"Not like you should be upset about this now! I figured I should be on the safe side, and I walked here anyways!" When Jane answered the phone, BEN quickly relayed the situation to her as you packed up the crystals. Jack was quick to warp where you were, and he brought all of you to the mansion, your group weaponed up and ready.

"You saw where the crystal was, right?" Natalie was quick to ask, pulling out her knives in defense. You nodded, and began to run, leading them with you.

"It was in a hidden room in the library!" You shouted out, all of them rushing to keep up with you as you darted up the stairs to the library. They rushed alongside you, and you all made it to the top floor in the restricted section. The door was open in the side of the wall, and you all entered it hesitantly, EJ and Natalie in the front, claws, and knives drawn. You all moved quickly down the stairs but halted when you found the crystal; guarded heavily by the proxies, however.

"I never thought I'd see the day when you would all become traitors." Tim spat out. He was angry, his own weapons drawn, his eyes raking across all of you in detest.

"Tim, we aren't the traitors here. It's Slender! He's been lying to us!" Natalie pled out, hesitantly taking a few steps closer to him, although that caused him to lift up his weapons higher at her, and she halted.

"Why the fuck would we believe you over Slender?" His voice was angry and he was very defensive. It seemed like despite the amount of you on your side that he was hesitant to want to believe the truth.

"Because it's true! We wouldn't lie about this, we have no reason to! All that matters to us is keeping everyone safe!" Natalie told him again, and she was growing quite emotional. Her eyes kept shifting between them, and the three proxies stood strong together.

"I-I mean, Na-Natalie wouldn't lie Tim." Toby hesitantly spoke up, shifting nervously under the scrutiny of his gaze. Tim scoffed at him.

"What, so you're just gonna believe them and betray Slender too? He's given us nothing but a happy home, Toby! You've said that yourself!" Tim shouted at him and Toby's attitude was starting to kick in.

"But why the f-fuck would they lie?! T-they love us! T-t-they're family!" Toby shouted right back, and Brian moved to try and calm them down. 

"You can see the truth." Sally suddenly spoke up, stepping forward, and both the boys jolted their heads to look at her. "If you touch the crystal, you'll see the truth. You'll see what he does." The three of them shared a glance between themselves and Tim went to refute her point, but Brian finally spoke up. 

"Would it really hurt, Tim? Just to see if they're right or not?" Brian's voice was calm, and Tim studied him for a moment, before irritatedly sighing out. He agreed hesitantly, and the three of them reached out and touched the crystal at the same time. Toby's arm was shaking, and within minutes all three of them were crumpled on the ground, screaming out in pain. Tim pried off his shirt, and all of you could see his pact mark, which originally took up the entirety of his torso, now shrinking down and growing smaller. 

"What the fuck is this?" Tim shouted out, and you all explained to him how the pacts shrink when your trust breaks in Slender, about why you needed the crystals, about all your memories. Toby was crumpled up on the floor openly sobbing, the shock to his system too great as he had never felt pain before. 

"H-h-h-he l-lied?" Toby tried to get out, his body overcome with emotion. Brian moved to crouch next to him and tried comforting him. You all wanted to move to comfort him as well, but before you could there was another presence suddenly in the room.

"You all really just have no patience do you? No trust in anything. Just selfish desires." Slender was standing before all of you, in between you and the proxies, and none of you had ever heard his voice so devoid of emotion before. 

"Bold of you to refer to us as selfish." Jane countered, glaring at him with nothing but hatred and rage.

"I am simply doing what was required to survive. It doesn't have to be this way, you don't all have to go against me. We were a family, weren't we?" His voice was level but his posture was strict.

"Last time I checked you weren't supposed to melt your family down into a shitty crystal so that you can use them for power." Your voice had anger in it, and his head turned to you, his posture stiffening even more, but despite your growing fear you held your ground, Jeff standing close to you on guard.

"Ah, the person at fault speaks. I should have killed you when I met you. If it weren't for you none of them would have anything to worry about. They would all still be happy, smiling, unaware." His tone was cold and venomous. 

"That's not true! Smiley was already aware before they even knew, and so was LJ!" Sally piped up from where she stood in front of you, and her body was shaking with power as her emotions spurred her on. Slender scoffed at her, and she stood tall and proud.

"Say whatever you want, you wouldn't have rallied together if it wasn't for their interference." The proxies finally rose behind him, and Toby mumbled his name softly, causing Slender to turn to look at him.

"D-did you k-kill her? D-did you really k-kill Lyra?" His voice was shaking, and tears were streaming down his face. 

"Yes. Her death was necessary in order for me to transform you into who you are." His words were blunt and they seemed to cut directly through Toby.

"She d-didn't need to die," Toby was weeping out, "She was s-s-so young! So innocent! Happy!" His words got stronger and carried more power, and as they kept growing, all of your pact marks began to light up and glow.

"Toby, calm down. Her life wasn't that important, and you are overreacting. You aren't seeing the big picture." Slender sounded irritated, and he seemed to be panicking over what was happening.

"You killed my sister! You killed my sister you fucking asshole! She didn't have to die! She should be living, be happy, be with me!" Toby was screaming out, and Slender continued to try and calm him, and your marks continued glowing brighter and brighter, the crystal on the pedestal shaking amongst the power.

"I hate you! I hate you, you fucking jackass! You asshole! You lying deceptive piece of shit! You freak!" He screamed and cried, he pulled on his hair, he shook his head, and as Slender went to reach for him, all of your pact marks shattered. All of you crying, for him, all of you feeling his emotions caused all of you to lose your marks. You remembered Cherry's words, that when the person closest to him was betrayed you would lose your marks, and you sobbed out, feeling his emotions, feeling his betrayal.

"Could you just shut your stupid insignificant mouth for once you ungrateful brat?!" Slender had finally snapped, finally lost his facade, and as he shot out multiple tendrils to stab into Toby, Brian saw what was happening, and jumped in front of him, choking out as his tendrils pierced through his gut.

"B-Brian!" Toby screamed out, reach out for him, and grasping onto him as Brian felt himself dying. 

"Kill the asshole, for me and your sister." Brian smiled. He smiled at Toby and felt tears rolling down his face. "I love you, Toby. I would be proud to call you my family, to call you my brother. Live for me, for her." His words had all of you choking out, and as Toby went to hold him Slender suddenly whipped his body into the wall and off of his tendrils. All of you screamed out, and Tim reached out quickly and grabbed the yellow crystal.

"Tim-" Slender began, reaching out his hand for the crystal.

"You don't have the right to call me Tim you fuckhead!" Tim shouted out, and he hurled the crystal at the wall, shattering it on impact. 

Slender screeched out at the shattering crystal, stumbling to the ground and clutching his face as it moved around, wiggling and changing shape, letting off an eerily inhuman noise. While he was distracted with the immense pain, all of you shouted out to Tim and Toby and called for them to come towards you. The two boys ran and grabbed Brian's body, and then ran to you, grasping onto all of you as Jack teleported you away, to safety, and away from Slender for the time being.


	28. Two Weeks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Ah, so you've arrived." Toby looked up in shock at the deep voice echoing around him and was suddenly face to face with Zalgo. He looked between the others in panic, but they all signaled him that it was okay.
> 
> "It's okay, Toby, he's on our side. He's the one that told us how to beat Slender." You informed him, and while still suspicious, he nodded and went to stand beside Tim, grasping onto his arm and standing close to him.
> 
> "My condolences." He nodded to Tim and Toby, and they nodded. "I came to offer you all assistance. You no longer bare Slender's pact mark, so now you will not be able to move throughout the Underworld to finish your goal. I was going to make a deal with you all, offer you a temporary pact mark that can be dissolved with no consequences." You glanced amongst yourselves, and everyone shifted their eyes to you. You considered it and agreed.
> 
> You all jolted in shock as a shiny blue light enveloped all of your hands, it was in an ornate design, and resting in the middle of it was a timer. A timer that would last for two weeks.

When you were teleported away, you were taken to a place you weren't familiar with, and Jack explained that it was his carnival. He said that you would be safe here, as even Slender himself couldn't pry his way into the carnival without Jack's explicit permission, and you all breathed a sigh of relief. Your relief was shortlived, however, as you were brought back to reality from Toby's cries as he clutched onto Brian, Tim still holding onto him as well. 

"It was m-my f-fault!" Toby shouted out, clutching onto him and burying his face into his neck. He held onto him and sobbed out, and Tim clutched them both to his chest, finally allowing himself to cry as well. All of you felt your own tears returning, and you moved yourselves closer to hold onto them as well.

"It wasn't your fault, Toby. He would've protected you no matter what." Tim mumbled, stroking Toby's back to try and calm his whimpers. Toby snuggled into the touch, and Jane and Natalie moved to pat along him as well. Tim looked at LJ, who was nervously standing off to the side, unsure of how to comfort them.

"Jack, can we bury him here? So he doesn't have to be abandoned somewhere?" Jack stiffened at that but quickly nodded. He helped Tim lift Brian's body, and he led you all to a closed-off section of the carnival that normal people wouldn't have access to. It led to a hill, off in the back of the carnival, and when you reached the top Jack magicked a shovel into his hands.

"I, uh, I don't know if you want me to do the honors." Jack looked awkward, and he handed off the shovel to Tim, who nodded and accepted it. 

Toby waited with Brian's body, mentally trying to prepare himself to say goodbye, and Jeff and Natalie had gone off to find materials to craft a tombstone of sorts for him. A few of you helped Tim with his shoveling, and by the time Jeff and Natalie returned, bearing a wooden cross with Brian's name and date of death on it, the hole was ready for him. Jack helped them lower Brian down into the grave, and everyone joined in on shoveling the dirt back into place.

"Should- should we all say some parting words?" Jane's question had you all shifting, and you decided that yes, you would all say goodbye to Brian. You said goodbye first, and while you didn't have as much to say like the others, he had impacted you in the last two years, and you would greatly miss him. Jeff and Liu went next, and by the time they were done, they were walking away in tears, and unusually quiet. Natalie had to be pulled away from the scene by Helen, who had gone up with her. Puppeteer and Jason went up after them, both uncharacteristically quiet. Sally and both Jacks went next, and they spent the longest time up there so far, Sally being carried back down by EJ, burying her teary face in his shoulder. Tim and Toby went up together, and you both moved further away to give them space. 

"Well, bud," Tim began, bending down to kneel by the grave, "I guess your time came a little early, huh?" He sniffled and swallowed before continuing. "You're my best friend, Brian, always have been. I never thought that I would lose you, fuck, I thought I'd end up dying way before you did. You never doubted me, never judged me, you were just always there and always accepting me. I love you, Brian. I'm gonna miss you more than I've ever missed anyone, and I will be back to visit you. We're gonna kill that asshole, and I'll be back to brag about it to you." Tim's voice was frequently breaking by the end of his speech, and he rubbed his eyes and began to head back down the hill, patting Toby on the back as he went.

"Hi, Brian," Toby plopped down at the side of the grave, sitting crisscrossed, and he licked his lips, trying to figure out what to say. "I remember when I lost my sister. I-I wasn't sure how to cope with that loss. I don't think I can cope with this loss either." Toby could feel himself crying, but for once in his life, he was even and controlled. He was calm. "You said you would be proud to call me your brother. N-nobody has ever said something like that to me. You always accepted me, a-always cared for me, kept me safe, happy. You were the first person to be s-so kind to me, and I will never forget you. We will defeat Slender. For you, for Lyra, for the o-other families. I love you, B-Brian. Rest well." Toby sat there for a few more moments, enjoying the breeze and the calm, allowing his tears to flow before he made his way slowly down the hill.

"Ah, so you've arrived." Toby looked up in shock at the deep voice echoing around him and was suddenly face to face with Zalgo. He looked between the others in panic, but they all signaled him that it was okay.

"It's okay, Toby, he's on our side. He's the one that told us how to beat Slender." You informed him, and while still suspicious, he nodded and went to stand beside Tim, grasping onto his arm and standing close to him.

"My condolences." He nodded to Tim and Toby, and they nodded. "I came to offer you all assistance. You no longer bare Slender's pact mark, so now you will not be able to move throughout the Underworld to finish your goal. I was going to make a deal with you all, offer you a temporary pact mark that can be dissolved with no consequences." You glanced amongst yourselves, and everyone shifted their eyes to you. You considered it and agreed.

You all jolted in shock as a shiny blue light enveloped all of your hands, it was in an ornate design, and resting in the middle of it was a timer. A timer that would last for two weeks. 

"In two weeks that mark will disappear, and you will lose free access to the Underworld. I wish you luck. As you are now technically my proxies, if you require assistance, you know where to find me." With that, he was gone, and you were all left to consider his words. Two weeks. By the end of that time, you all knew you would have Slender's head resting on a silver platter.


	29. Hide and Seek

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You doin' alright?" You questioned him, laughing at his unusually colorful appearance.
> 
> "Eh, I've seen worse days. I'm used to looking clownish anyways." He winked at you and you giggled, helping him shake out the remaining powder as he bent over. "Good call with that light show back there, by the way, a dazzling idea might I say, Munchkin." You smiled at the familiar nickname and thanked him. While his deep voice and accent used to make you fear him, they were both now a source of comfort that you really needed in current times. Zalgo called all of you back to the center of the carnival, and Jack teleported you all back.
> 
> "Alright, everyone. You've been performing well here, but tomorrow is the real deal. You might be able to handle Jack, but tomorrow will show you how well you can really handle Slender." You swallowed at his words, but your determination was stronger than ever. You would win, you had to. There were no other options. After you finished going over your plans for the next day, you all turned into bed early, wanting to be well rested for the endeavor that was about to take place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I totally didn't get inspiration for this chapter from a certain show, I would never.

You were now all standing together, and ready to finally fully put this plan into action. You would all work together to wear him down gradually over the next two weeks. You were going to lure him out, break a crystal, and blast him with attacks while he suffered pain, starting with the least powerful crystal and working your way upward. You had already blown one chance when Tim shattered the yellow crystal in the heat of the moment, but you were all willing to work with it as that did decrease some of Slender's power.

You had set up two bases, one in Jack's carnival for protection, and one in Zalgo's castle for planning and assistance. At Jack's carnival, everyone had been going through training to improve their fighting skills and mobility, and weapon usage. You had all been training on gun usage, as using knives would just be too risky. Another tactic you had all been working on was moving in group formations and using hand signals to notify other members running behind you. You would be doing this as a team, no way around it. If one person got hit, the other's got them to safety.

One way to increase this was to train by playing hide and seek. Zalgo had access to high-quality healers, so in the chance that you got hurt, you could keep going. Normally, LJ would chase after all of you while you were hiding to evade the seeker. You were trying to outlast the seeker for up to ten minutes, and if you could last that long from fooling him you would all surround him, and smash the crystal, taking aim, and knocking the shit out of him with a barrage of bullets. You were all about to go into another practice round at the moment, your last for the night.

"Alright, you all know the rules," Zalgo stated, holding a stopwatch as you all stood by, "Follow your leader's command. Avoid the seeker. If you get isolated, find a group or distract the seeker. You have ten minutes." You all signaled that you understood.

"Team one!" Tim shouted out, beginning to list off the teams. The first would be Jeff as the leader, with Jane, EJ, you and Liu as the members. Team two had Helen as the leader with Natalie, Jason, Puppeteer, and Toby as it's members. Team three would be the distraction team and was made up of Tim as the leader, BEN, Sally, and Smiley as members, although, of course, LJ himself as seeker wasn't aware of which team had which role. You all lined up, and when Zalgo signaled to go, you all shot off in your different groups and made a break for the woods. Jack had shifted the carnival to make up the same map of the woods by the mansion.

Your group followed closely by Jeff as he led, and you kept watch for his signals. He raised his left hand and stuck up two fingers, signaling an upcoming left turn, and you all followed his lead. He seemed to slow his roll a bit and he turned his right arm back towards you with all five fingers spread, you all immediately halted and crouched. He listened for another moment and saw team two darting across the clearing. Helen raised his left hand at you and made bouncing bunny ears with his pointer and middle finger. Seeker spotted, be on the lookout. Jeff signaled you all to rise by jerking his right arm up, and you followed him as he led you off from the clearing and into the thicker part of the woods.

You rounded up a small hill and glanced down to see team three leading Jack on a wild goose chase. You were approaching a split path and Jeff raised his right hand and parted his middle and pointer finger. You'd be splitting up. Jane led you and Liu off the next path as Jeff and EJ continued onwards. Jane led you down past the creek, and the three of you stumbled upon team two. Jane pressed her pointer fingers together, and Helen signed a fist, you would be joining their team. You all heard a giant explosion and looked up to see a pink cloud floating up into the sky and you snickered amongst yourselves. Jack had supplied you all with prank distractions to use against Slender, and it seems someone had used a particularly powerful smoke bomb, one mixed with drugs that would disorient Slender.

Helen led you all around a large clumping of trees and spotting Jeff and EJ, somewhat covered in pink dust themselves, were rounding the same area. Jane signaled to you and Liu to rejoin with Jeff and EJ, and when Jeff caught her signal he made a fist of his own, and all of you separated. As the five of you raced around the trees you soon sensed Jack's presence behind you, and you pulled out one of the aforementioned distractors, setting it off and throwing it back at him. Dazzling and swirling lights set off in every direction, surrounding and disorienting him. Jeff nodded at you and smirked, and Jane jokingly made gagging faces at the two of you. 

As you reached the center of the forest, you saw Helen signal the formation signs, a large circle above his head with his arms, and you all weaved between the trees. You could see team three running forward through the trees with Jack close on their tail, and soon the had him in the clearing, whirling around and stopping, pulling out their (currently fake) guns, and aiming them at Jack, as you all cocked your own guns from your hiding positions. You heard a whistle blow, and you all cheered, knowing you had won this round, and you all converged back down to the clearing where team three and Jack were resting. 

"Fuck yeah, bitch! That's what I'm talking about!" BEN shouted out, high fiving Toby and Jeff. You laughed and walked over to Jack, where he was currently trying to shake the bright pink powder out of his hair.

"You doin' alright?" You questioned him, laughing at his unusually colorful appearance.

"Eh, I've seen worse days. I'm used to looking clownish anyways." He winked at you and you giggled, helping him shake out the remaining powder as he bent over. "Good call with that light show back there, by the way, a dazzling idea might I say, Munchkin." You smiled at the familiar nickname and thanked him. While his deep voice and accent used to make you fear him, they were both now a source of comfort that you really needed in current times. Zalgo called all of you back to the center of the carnival, and Jack teleported you all back.

"Alright, everyone. You've been performing well here, but tomorrow is the real deal. You might be able to handle Jack, but tomorrow will show you how well you can really handle Slender." You swallowed at his words, but your determination was stronger than ever. You would win, you had to. There were no other options. After you finished going over your plans for the next day, you all turned into bed early, wanting to be well rested for the endeavor that was about to take place.


	30. Recon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "He discovered that I had the red crystal, that I had stolen it from him, and he came to find it. The crystals work inversely, when they show memories to you, they show memories to him. The purple crystal revealed what was currently happening to you, and they revealed the original location of the red crystal to him. He came to retrieve it but retreated when he discovered it wasn't there." He looked longingly at the wall, most likely missing the portrait that used to hang there, but he turned back to all of you with fire in his eyes.
> 
> "Today you are breaking the pink crystal, the weakest of all of them, so today will be the most difficult day in terms of his strength, but do remember, you can't attack him in the same pattern every single time. He's highly intelligent and difficult to fool." You all took deep breaths and began to mentally ready yourselves for the task you were about to undertake. When Zalgo deemed you all ready, you were all suddenly surrounded by a sparkling red current, and he wished you good luck as he sent you to the mansion.

You all woke up bright and early to get started on today's mission. You all made your way to Zalgo's castle to load up on weapons, which was quite the exciting task for some of the killers, of course.

"Would you check out the size of this thing?!" Natalie shouted out, running to look at a large weapon displayed on one of the many walls in the weaponry room.

"Natalie, that's a rocket launcher, we aren't taking that." Tim chided her, brushing past her to grab an automatic firearm displayed next to it, as Natalie mock pouted at him before grabbing one of her own. All of you were given two weapons to use, alongside the gag weapons Jack had supplied you with, and you were all given a large supply of ammo to carry around with you.

"Don't go wasting all of my weapons and destroying them," Zalgo warned as he walked into the room, "You may be working for me, but those are expensive, and I won't be supplying replacements for every single mission." He did have a point. Counting today's, there were five crystals left that you had to destroy, and you'd definitely all need your weapons for all five attacks. You all prepped yourselves and then decided on who would be doing what.

"We'll be in the same groups we were for last night's game of hide and seek. First, we're going to do recon on the mansion, get anything you might need, and then we're gonna start our game of hide and seek with the big guy. You all have your bracelets, yes?" Tim looked amongst all of you, and you all raised your hands to verify that you did. 

Cherry had prepared a gift for all of you, special bracelets that would prevent Slender from reading your minds and tracing you. That would allow you all to move around more freely, and it would be much harder on him, as he would have to track you down and follow you on his own. Of course, Slender likely wouldn't be the only person you would have to worry about, as he's obviously shown several times he isn't above hiring assassins to take you out. Suddenly a thought occurred to you, and you turned to look at Zalgo.

"I have a question I'd like to ask you." You stated as you walked up to him, and he cooly looked down at you with disinterest, and quirked a brow, encouraging you to go on. "The night the proxies discovered the truth Slender was at your castle. Why was he here?" 

He hummed at your question and began walking away from you, turning and beckoning you to follow him. He led you to his throne room, the room you'd first encountered him in, and you were shocked to see a large hole in the wall where the portrait hiding the red crystal once was. He looked at the shocked expressions all of you seemed to be wearing and frowned.

"He discovered that I had the red crystal, that I had stolen it from him, and he came to find it. The crystals work inversely, when they show memories to you, they show memories to him. The purple crystal revealed what was currently happening to you, and they revealed the original location of the red crystal to him. He came to retrieve it but retreated when he discovered it wasn't there." He looked longingly at the wall, most likely missing the portrait that used to hang there, but he turned back to all of you with fire in his eyes.

"Today you are breaking the pink crystal, the weakest of all of them, so today will be the most difficult day in terms of his strength, but do remember, you can't attack him in the same pattern every single time. He's highly intelligent and difficult to fool." You all took deep breaths and began to mentally ready yourselves for the task you were about to undertake. When Zalgo deemed you all ready, you were all suddenly surrounded by a sparkling red current, and he wished you good luck as he sent you to the mansion. 

You all looked around and saw you were in the secret room in the library, blackened shards of the yellow crystal still shattered on the floor. You all went slowly out of the room together, Both Jack's leading in the front, Jeff and Tim holding up the back. You all reached the main room and decided to split up into your groups. Team one would be grabbing medical materials from the med lab, team two would be grabbing weapons, and team three would be searching Slender's office for anything that might be important. 

As your group sprinted down to the medical lab, you and Liu proceeded to shovel the important medications EJ pointed out into backpacks you had brought with you, and Jane and Jeff kept an eye out for anyone that might be a threat to all of you. Of course, maybe that wouldn't have been such a hard task if the doors to the medical lab hadn't suddenly slid and locked themselves shut, separating Jane and Jeff from the rest of you.

Team two's group was making progress in the weapons room at the mansion, grabbing the signature weapons of all of the members, and placing them in bags and containers they had brought to transport them to Zalgo's castle once all of you finished your tasks. They shouldn't have had any issues, at least, until the power went out in the room, shutting off all the lights, all communication, and locking the doors to the room shut in the process.

Team three was swiftly climbing their way up the mansion to the top floor. They had scoped out every floor on the way, checking for enemies and making sure that there would be no interference, as it would be too risky to let anything slip by. As they slid into Slender's office, they were shocked to find the room completely lit up with lights, all of the electronics whirring to life in the room despite there being nobody in the room, at least that they could see. They suddenly heard a chuckle emanating from Slender's chair, which was turned away from them. The chair then turned around to reveal a figure that was well known within the Underworld.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here." The man smirked, and before they could even make a move, they were blacked out from a sudden electrical current surging into them.


	31. Electrical Interference

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You were aware of his history with his box, and you began cranking the small handle, listening to the distorted tune of 'Pop Goes the Weasel' as you did so. After a few moments, the lid popped open and Jack shot out of the machine, crumbling to the floor in a mess of tears, shaking terribly. None of you had seen him like that before, and you quickly bent down in front of him.
> 
> "Jack? Are you alright?" You reached out for him and he pulled you into him, thanking you for freeing him as he buried his face into your hair, talking about how cold it was, how dark it was, how lonely he felt. He was experiencing his PTSD and having a breakdown, and you gladly comforted him, stroking through his hair and cooing to him, allowing him to cry out his worries and fears. 
> 
> "It's alright, you're safe now, you never have to go back into the box again." You assured him, and his tears began to die down, he pulled away from you and slowly released you, thanking you again for providing assistance in freeing him.

The only man left standing from the electrical interference was BEN, who was able to withstand electric shocks because of his own electric nature. However, that did not mean that he was any more prepared to come face to face with someone else bearing the same abilities.

"How annoying, it seems like I'll still have to deal with you." He chuckled and leaned back as he glared at BEN. Of course, BEN knew how risky this was. The man's name was Cypher, and he was currently one of the lead assassins working in the Underworld. He was recruited for the same reasons BEN was; He was able to control electronics, and transfer himself through them, skills that were very hard to come by.

"More like I'll be the one dealing with you." Despite his unease, BEN wasn't going to back down now. 

"Oh? Big words from someone with so much at risk." BEN began to activate his own powers, moving to take control of the electronics when Cypher lifted up a box, a box that halted BEN's movement entirely. 

"Good decision, halting your attack. After all, we wouldn't want this to get damaged, would we? Unfortunately for your friend, the safe he was keeping it in was electrical." The box that he was holding happened to be Jack's box, and if it got destroyed, Jack would cease to exist. BEN took a deep breath and pressed a trigger in his pocket, one that would notify LJ if he needed help.

"Kind of a low blow, dragging someone else into this for blackmail." Cypher snorted at BEN's statement and flipped the box around in his hands, causing BEN's eyes to twitch in annoyance.

"I'm an assassin, jackass. I don't exactly care about people's lives." He had a point. The only main difference between them was that BEN didn't like killing people. His work wasn't exactly in the murder field, but rather in the information gathering field. BEN tried to keep him distracted with arguments, while he could see Jack moving about, closer to Cypher. Suddenly, Cypher smirked, and he yanked open the lid to Jack's box, forcing Jack to be sucked into it with a yell, and BEN reaching out for him.

"Now that we don't have any more distractions, why don't you show me what you can do?" BEN reading for an attack, and as Cypher went to leap at him, the door to Slender's office slammed open behind him.

"Fuckin' knew somethin' was up," Jeff shouted out, landing a hit to Cypher, sending him flying back as he and Jane ran into the room. BEN looked at the shocked and questioned what they were doing here.

"All of the doors locked, we got separated from the rest of our team and figured we'd check in with the other groups. Team two is still locked in the weapon room, so we wanted to see how you were doing." Jane explained, loading and cocking the shotgun in her arms and aiming it at Cypher. 

"BEN, you do your thing, we've got him," Jane told him, and BEN zapped his way into the computer sitting on Slender's desk, unlocking the doors and turning on all the lights. Soon, the others had also made their way upstairs. 

"You know, for one of the best out there you really suck ass at your job." Jane taunted him and he smirked up at her. 

"I might not have killed anyone yet, but I'd love to see you finish your job while missing members of your team." He smirked at her, and having had enough of him, she shot a bullet through his head, clanking through the metal making up his body and shooting through his harddrive as he sunk to the floor. BEN came out of the computer and he picked up Jack's box from where it had fallen to the floor. He dusted it off, and walked over to you, handing it over.

"You're the only one that can open it, only someone completely human can let him out," BEN informed you, and the others looked at you worriedly, knowing this wouldn't end well. 

You were aware of his history with his box, and you began cranking the small handle, listening to the distorted tune of 'Pop Goes the Weasel' as you did so. After a few moments, the lid popped open and Jack shot out of the machine, crumbling to the floor in a mess of tears, shaking terribly. None of you had seen him like that before, and you quickly bent down in front of him.

"Jack? Are you alright?" You reached out for him and he pulled you into him, thanking you for freeing him as he buried his face into your hair, talking about how cold it was, how dark it was, how lonely he felt. He was experiencing his PTSD and having a breakdown, and you gladly comforted him, stroking through his hair and cooing to him, allowing him to cry out his worries and fears. 

"It's alright, you're safe now, you never have to go back into the box again." You assured him, and his tears began to die down, he pulled away from you and slowly released you, thanking you again for providing assistance in freeing him. Just as he pulled back from you, all of you began to walk from the room, moving to go back to what you were doing when you heard high pitched laughter, and you all turned to look at the presumed dead body of Cypher.

"Safe? SAFE? I wouldn't say that!" He shouted out, cackling high and loud again as he began ticking, and soon fire was spewing from his mouth. "Jack isn't the only one having a fear exploited today!" 

You then remembered that Toby, Jeff, and Jane all had a fear of fire, and you pushed them to the exit, those of you remaining helping the fallen members to their feet, all of you fleeing from the mansion, running down the halls as the rooms behind you began to light up in the flames. As you all dived out of the front of the mansion, a burst of flames shout out behind you, and the building was erupted up in a bright fire. Toby was shaking behind you, grasping onto Tim as he stared up at the mansion in horror, fire erupting out of the windows, shattering the glass and consuming the woodwork.

"So much for finding important information," Helen muttered out, looking in awe and disbelief at the building in front of all of you. You nodded along with him, but shrugged your bags back on and grasped your weapon tightly in your hands.

"This doesn't stop what we have to do." You stated, and they began coming back to their senses, looking away from the fire and glancing at you with a nod. You would just be proceeding to the attack part of your plan a bit sooner than you had all expected.


	32. A Doozy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I think you should all give him a doozy and make this go much faster." You all jolted in shock as you heard a voice from behind you, whipping around you all found Cherry standing behind you, holding the purple crystal in her grasp, and she moved forward to hand it to you. You looked at her confusedly.
> 
> "I thought we could only shatter one crystal at a time?" She smiled bitterly at you and bounced on her heels.
> 
> "The price of shattering multiple crystals is the loss of an ally. Because you lost Brian, you have paid the price and can shatter two crystals at the same time." Tim and Toby looked especially distraught at her words, but you grasped onto the smooth crystal tightly and nodded at her.
> 
> "Make sure you smash them at the same time, otherwise it won't work." She informed you, looking over your group before nodding and disappearing into thin air. You all regrouped and figured out a plan. You would crush the pink and purple crystals. Team three, now feeling better, would serve as your distraction team yet again. 
> 
> You all set off to varying marked locations in the woods you had already planned out, and when you were all ready, you notified Zalgo, and he would trigger Slender appearing within the woods.

"I think you should all give him a doozy and make this go much faster." You all jolted in shock as you heard a voice from behind you, whipping around you all found Cherry standing behind you, holding the purple crystal in her grasp, and she moved forward to hand it to you. You looked at her confusedly.

"I thought we could only shatter one crystal at a time?" She smiled bitterly at you and bounced on her heels.

"The price of shattering multiple crystals is the loss of an ally. Because you lost Brian, you have paid the price and can shatter two crystals at the same time." Tim and Toby looked especially distraught at her words, but you grasped onto the smooth crystal tightly and nodded at her.

"Make sure you smash them at the same time, otherwise it won't work." She informed you, looking over your group before nodding and disappearing into thin air. You all regrouped and figured out a plan. You would crush the pink and purple crystals. Team three, now feeling better, would serve as your distraction team yet again. 

You all set off to varying marked locations in the woods you had already planned out, and when you were all ready, you notified Zalgo, and he would trigger Slender appearing within the woods. As you waited, you could all feel the woods changing. Slender was there, and you could feel his presence seeping throughout the woods, and you all felt drenched in fear. He wouldn't hold back anymore. He wouldn't play games or go easy on you, because he no longer had any reason to. You had all cast him off, and you would have to suffer the consequences of doing so. But you were ready, willing, to pay the price that it would take to get revenge. Revenge for Brian, revenge for the other families, revenge for yourselves.

"I gave all of you a chance," His voice echoed throughout the forest, sending shocks through all of you. Previously he had always communicated through your minds, so it appears he was aware of your blocking bracelets preventing him from interacting with your minds.

"I gave you food, I gave you a home, a roof to rest under, a place to keep all of your things." His voice continued to grow louder, and the trees resting around you began to shudder and sway through the breeze passing around you. 

"You had everything you could have wished for. Friends. Family. Anything that a creature needs to survive. But, of course, you couldn't be happy with that, you just had to tear all of it apart." A group of crows flew above you, away from the center of the forest, yet none of you dared to move.

"You all had to make yourselves into little vermin, rats, roaches, ants. Things meant to be crushed and killed underfoot. Things that are meant to be despised." His voice was deep and animalistic in nature, much different from how it was at the mansion. 

He seemed to have gone silent, but still, none of you dared to creep from your spots. The breeze stilled, the branches halted their creaking, and all seemed to pause within the word. You all slowed your breathing and listened for your cue. Group three alerted all of you beforehand that the first thing they would do would be to use a smoke bomb, as they were drugged with something that would disorient him, but it needed time to kick in, so it would be used first. As you all halted for a few more moments, you soon heard and saw a giant explosion, purple powder flying deep into the air to your left, and Jeff took off, leading you all to the other direction.

Your group made sure to follow along behind him, trailing him at a fast pace. Jane and EJ, following from the back, made sure to drop traps along behind themselves in case he followed along behind all of you on foot. You saw Helen's group trailing along the other side, and you all decided to rush this faster than your 10 minute mark. You all looped around the forest, jumping and dodging. Slender got close to you all at one point, and all five of you let loose some of your disorienting gags, causing him to roar out and claw at his face. You all escaped from him, trying to stick together through the mist he was causing to rise within the forest. 

As you located Helen's group, you all took your positions around the center of the forest, and you used the mist and trees to your advantage, hiding within them to save yourselves from being spotted. Within a few moments, team three was stumbling into the center of the forest, and Slender was slowly creeping up to them, covered in various debris from the traps.

"Finally..." He began, stumbling over to them, "Finally, I can get you annoying pricks out of my side." He crept forward, and they continued to creep backward. When he was in the right position, you handed a crystal to Jeff, and he nodded at you. You both placed them on the ground and hovered your boots above them. Jeff called out to him.

"Hey, douchebag!" Slender whirled around to locate his voice, and Jeff smirked down at him.

"It's the other way around, jackass! We're getting you out of our sides!" As he yelled that, you both slammed your heels down onto the crystals at the same time, shattering them. 

Slender crumbled amongst the pain, and you all pulled out your weapons, firing into him. He screeched out, the special bullets piercing through his skin, his lack of power forcing him to heal much slower than he normally would have. You all unloaded all of your rounds into him, and when he was a crumpled heap on the ground, steam rolling off of him, flesh melting away, moaning out in pain, you all had Zalgo bring you back to the castle in another flash of red. 

"Well done for your first round." He greeted you, as you all warped into his throne room. "That certainly isn't enough to kill him, but it will weaken him by a grand amount." You all breathed a sigh of relief, safe within his castle walls, and you all went to get first aid for the injuries you all accumulated. For now, you would rest. Tomorrow you would make your next plan.


	33. New Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I think Natalie already had a glamorous idea for that." He lifted up the rocket launcher that Natalie had been gushing over the previous day, and Tim looked at him in confusion.
> 
> "How is using a rocket launcher going to minimize damage to someone?" His words caused Zalgo to chuckle, and he pulled out the loaded rounds from the launcher.
> 
> "I actually had this made specifically for use on Slender. It's designed to only damage him." To prove his point, he loaded it and shot the launcher into his hallway, and while there was a physical explosion, there was no actual damage done. As you all took a moment to recover from shock, Natalie jumped up in down in glee.
> 
> "That's fucking awesome!" She cheered, and she ran over to him to get a better look at it as Zalgo explained all of the functions to her. You looked at Tim with a smile and a quirked brow and he sighed and shrugged his shoulders. You now all had your plan, now you just needed to set it into motion.

You all had a lot to think about after your attack on Slender the previous day. You knew that you wouldn't be able to pull the same hide and seek strategy with him, as the odds of that working again in your favor were exceedingly slim. You needed to find a new way to isolate him and do so in a way that all of you could get a hit on him. For the last several hours, all of you had been going through idea after idea, yet none of them seemed to stick.

"How the fuck are we supposed to get a hit on this jackass?" Jeff grunted out, crumpling up a piece of paper with failed ideas on it and tossing it into a now overflowing trash bin.

"We just need to keep him occupied, right? So we just need a huge fucking distraction, and then BOOM! We take him down." Natalie stated, twirling around a pencil and gesturing widely with her arms.

"How are we going to stop him from realizing its a distraction?" Sally piped up, tossing the discarded paper balls back and forth with Toby. You all sat in silence for a few moments, and then your eyes drifted to Toby in thought, and an idea popped into your head.

"What if we make him angry?" Everyone turned to you as your eyes remained on Toby, and they seemed to realize what you were getting at. "If we have him angry at someone, I think that it's likely that he'll be focused on them. The only downside is that we need to be careful enough with it that the person on the receiving end doesn't end up getting killed." Everyone went silent again, and then Helen stepped forward.

"I think that it's the best chance we have for getting another hit on him. But not only do we need to make sure the person on the receiving end comes out alive, but we also need to make sure that they're close enough to Slender to really make him angry." 

"S-should I do it again?" Toby timidly asked, looking amongst all of you. Tim shook his head.

"I'd rather go in that send you in again. I don't want you being put in the line of fire any more than you already have." Tim's words were firm, and Toby backed down at his statement. 

"We don't want you in the line of fire either, Tim. We... we lost Brian, we don't wanna risk losing you either." Natalie told him, her eyes filled with worry. 

"I could do it! He can't really hurt me in my ghost form, so I can take the risk." Sally stated, stepping forward and raising her hand, eyes filled with determination.

"Even so, Sally, I don't think we want you putting yourself completely at risk either," Jane said, moving to brush some of her hair as she glanced down at her,

"But we can't just keep refusing every single person that steps forward. If we do that, then we'll have to scrap the plan because we won't have any options." Puppeteer pointed out, shifting in the corner of the room, eyes clouded with thought as he worked his lip between his teeth. The room became silent again at his words, and you all glanced amongst yourselves as you thought about the right person to step up and take the risk. You cleared your throat, and everyone's eyes landed on you as you shifted in your seat.

"I want to do it." Your words shocked a few of the people in the room, especially Jeff, who was sitting by your side.

"No, babe, no, I am not letting you do that. You aren't like us, you don't have our healing abilities and enhanced speed and strength." His words were firm, meant to intimidate you into backing down, but you held firm.

"I would be the best option though. He's the most angry at me right now, after all, if it wasn't for me, we wouldn't all be standing here plotting how to take him down right now." You had a point, and as much as nobody wanted to admit it, everyone in the room knew that you were right. Jeff looked conflicted, and he reached out to grasp onto you.

"I can't lose you. I can't risk anything happening to you." His voice was shaking, and you could tell he was trying not to tear up. You smiled at him.

"We can't lose anyone, Jeff. We aren't going to let anything happen to the receiving person, remember?" Your statement did little to ease his worries, but everyone agreed with you.

"It'll be okay, Jeff. Whether it's them, Toby, Sally, Tim, or fuck, even me, the person that'll distract him isn't going to die. We are all, in this room, going to make it out of this, we have to." Natalie chimed in, and you nodded at her, and she smiled back. You turned to look at Jeff again, and he stared at you with concern.

"I want to do this, Jeff. I need to do this." He analyzed you for a few moments, reading you to see if you were really willing to, and you stood firm in your determination with this matter. He sighed out and nodded his head. He would allow you to do so.

"But, how are we going to attack Slender without putting them at risk for getting hurt in the crossfire?" Jane's words brought you back to reality. She had a very good point. If they were firing at a bad angle and Slender dodged, it was extremely likely you could get hit instead. Zalgo stepped into the room and cleared his throat at that.

"I think Natalie already had a glamorous idea for that." He lifted up the rocket launcher that Natalie had been gushing over the previous day, and Tim looked at him in confusion.

"How is using a rocket launcher going to minimize damage to someone?" His words caused Zalgo to chuckle, and he pulled out the loaded rounds from the launcher.

"I actually had this made specifically for use on Slender. It's designed to only damage him." To prove his point, he loaded it and shot the launcher into his hallway, and while there was a physical explosion, there was no actual damage done. As you all took a moment to recover from shock, Natalie jumped up in down in glee.

"That's fucking awesome!" She cheered, and she ran over to him to get a better look at it as Zalgo explained all of the functions to her. You looked at Tim with a smile and a quirked brow and he sighed and shrugged his shoulders. You now all had your plan, now you just needed to set it into motion.


	34. She

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slender seemed to pick up on your realization from the look on your face, and he chuckled darkly, his face crinkling into what seemed to be a vicious smile. 
> 
> "You've always had a bad poker face, it's no wonder I didn't pick up on your intentions sooner. Alas, I should've just killed you when you stupidly encountered me the first time, or I should've ordered Jeff to kill you. Ha, oooh, how funny that would be. If I could turn back time and make him kill his future lover, oh how I'd gratefully enjoy that." His words normally wouldn't have affected you so much, but the disgusting appearance of his face and his horrid tone of voice had you feeling sick, and surely that showed on your face as well.
> 
> "Don't think of me as completely heartless. I too knew love once. What a lovely woman she was, her hair wonderfully smooth, her eyes and smile as radiant as the sun. What a sight to see she was." Was. She 'was'. He spoke fondly of her, but the end of his statement left a bitter taste in your mouth. He looked at you and seemed to pick up on your question. His face smiled again.

With your plan set in motion, all you had to do was find a location. Rather than going as a full group, it would be five of you taking part. You would be causing the distraction to Slender, Natalie and Tim would be firing the rocket launchers and breaking the crystal, and Jeff and LJ would be your little safety squad, hidden closer to you in case they needed to run in and save you from an attack. Rather than attacking in the woods around the mansion, as well, you would also be confronting Slender in a different location. You left the castle ahead of the others, trekking through the forests to get to your new confrontation point, located within some collapsed ruins.

"Getting bolder, aren't we?" The voice from behind you did little to calm your nerves, as you stood atop of some fallen bricks.

"I suppose that I might be." You responded, turning to face the tall man standing underneath a broken arch, hand resting upon the side of it as his face was turned to stare off into the distance, watching the sky as the sun began to set. 

"Tell me, mortal. Do you know what this place is?" You'd like to believe his tone was calm, but you could sense the anger hidden below the surface. You told him that you didn't, and he went silent for a moment.

"I used to dwell here. Zalgo dwelled here as well. This was where we lived for centuries, working together as partners, working with proxies." He paused for a moment and changed his tone. "Do you believe in prophecies?" His question threw you off, and you hesitated a moment before answering.

"I'm not... Quite sure if I believe in prophecies or not..." He turned to glance at you for a moment before he turned his attention back at the sky.

"There is a prophecy I think you might be interested in. It was written that there would be a being, one that longed for power. Said being would be able to obtain limitless power, with the ability to crystallize that power. However, the being would be challenged. When the chosen soul would meet their soulmate, the two would bond together with others, and rally them up to defeat the being. If the being were to win, it would gain its limitless power- but if it were to lose, well, I'm sure you would know how that would go. Sound familiar?" He turned his face back to you, and you were very unnerved, as his once solid face was now cracked and wrinkled from his anger.

'It's you!' Cherry's voice rang out within your mind, 'It's your destiny!' She reiterated, and you swallowed, glancing out at Slender. 

It clicked into your head, the reason why Cherry always told you it was important, that everyone would be in danger if you failed. It wasn't because your friends were at risk- it was because the world was at risk. Slender seemed to pick up on your realization from the look on your face, and he chuckled darkly, his face crinkling into what seemed to be a vicious smile. 

"You've always had a bad poker face, it's no wonder I didn't pick up on your intentions sooner. Alas, I should've just killed you when you stupidly encountered me the first time, or I should've ordered Jeff to kill you. Ha, oooh, how funny that would be. If I could turn back time and make him kill his future lover, oh how I'd gratefully enjoy that." His words normally wouldn't have affected you so much, but the disgusting appearance of his face and his horrid tone of voice had you feeling sick, and surely that showed on your face as well.

"Don't think of me as completely heartless. I too knew love once. What a lovely woman she was, her hair wonderfully smooth, her eyes and smile as radiant as the sun. What a sight to see she was." Was. She 'was'. He spoke fondly of her, but the end of his statement left a bitter taste in your mouth. He looked at you and seemed to pick up on your question. His face smiled again.

"Would you like to know what happened?" Did you? Yes, and no. Your curiosity was getting the better of you like always, but you also had a growing feeling that if you found out what happened to her that you'd surely regret hearing it. You swallowed and nodded. He smirked.

"It was a sad tale, you see. Only I'm aware of it, not even Zalgo who I was so close to at the time found out. Of course, he was close to her as well so I thought I'd spare his feelings on the sensitive subject matter." He leaned back against the arch he was next to and looked up as though thoughtfully recalling joyful memories of his youth.

"We got into a disagreement. Over, as you'd guess, the way I wished to obtain power. She sided with Zalgo, thought it would be cruel to do that to the proxies. She loved me so dearly, and she just wanted me to be filled with happiness, but the only things that have ever given be happiness were her, and power. Well, that night I made my decision between the two; we had been arguing that night in the lab where I was planning to produce the crystals, and of course, it was still in the trial phases. Well, you see, as much as I loved her she just made me so, so angry, and you know what I did?" He laughed a sickening laugh, full of malice. 

"I pushed her right into that big goddamn melting pot. She screamed for me to help her, to pull her out, but I wanted to see it through, to see what would happen. She became the first and the strongest crystal out of them all; a perfectly rounded, dazzlingly clear crystal. Of course, I'm only telling you that because I'll be killing you before anyone else finds out, so it's not like you have any hope of finding it." He laughed again, and you tightened your grip on the gun you'd brought with you for any chance of protection. 

'I'll discuss the new crystal with Zalgo, continue as planned.' Cherry's voice rang through your mind again, and you took a deep breath, turning to glare at Slender.

"Don't think of you as heartless?" You scoffed, "If I cut you open right now all that would be in there would be a dark gaping pit. You clearly don't have an ounce of compassion within you." He hummed at your statement.

"I don't expect you to understand, you mortals would never get it, just like she never got it." 

"She deserved better than you. You didn't deserve her, either. I bet she was suffering with you. I bet she hated you, and that night was her finally snapping out of it." The more you spoke the more agitated he continued to grow, and you knew your plan was beginning to work.

"Don't speak of her like that! Don't you dare speak of her! You know nothing about her!" You laughed at him.

"I know nothing about her? I know that she was mortal now, most likely human and that she died a cruel and undeserving death at the hands of a bastard who clearly didn't give a damn about her." Your words continued to get to him, and his face continued to crack and warp from his anger. 

"Oh, shut up you stupid, worthless wretch! You could never understand!" He was certainly angry, and you were almost proud of yourself for it if it wasn't for your growing fear that was beginning to cloud your confidence. You didn't have the chance to speak again, because unfortunately, you weren't prepared for what was to happen next.


	35. Serenity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I had always thought the red crystal was first but finding out that Serenity was made into a crystal nearly ruined me last night." He was struggling to get his words out, and you all gave him a moment to collect himself. "Cherry has located the crystal. It will be extremely dangerous to get to now. It's hidden in a base that multiple assassins are guarding, including that Cipher you ran into at the mansion." Jane looked shocked at this and rose from her seat in the corner of the room.
> 
> "But he should've burned in the fire!" She shouted out and he sighed, shaking his head.
> 
> "He escaped into Slender's computer before any real damage was done to him." You all processed his words and knew you'd need to put together a new team. With your injuries, you would be out of commission, and with a base full of cold-blooded killers you'd have to send in the best of the best to take on this next challenge.

"Oh, shut up you stupid, worthless wretch! You could never understand!" He was certainly angry, and you were almost proud of yourself for it if it wasn't for your growing fear that was beginning to cloud your confidence. You didn't have the chance to speak again, because unfortunately, you weren't prepared for what was to happen next. 

You choked out a breath of air as Slender pierced through your skin. Two of his tendrils plunged into you, and you sobbed out from the pain, one slamming into your shoulder above your heart, the other plunging into your right thigh. He lifted you into the air, and he hovered you closer to his body as you jerked about in pain. He chuckled darkly and aligned your face with his own, his face cracking open to reveal a mouth of hundreds of sharp teeth.

"You know, all this anger has made me a bit hungry," His voice was deep, the demonic tones being amplified, and his mouth reeked of decaying human, "Maybe I should just rid myself of you, and enjoy a nice meal while I'm at it!" He laughed at you, and you tried to squirm away from him, quickly growing lightheaded from the pain you were experiencing and the blood loss from your injuries. 

He began to stretch his mouth out, revealing even more teeth as he began to lift you up higher, planning to lift you into his mouth. You squirmed around, trying to break out of his grip, but he held you firm. You began to shift around, trying to grab your gun, but his tendrils held you firm. As you were about to unwillingly submit to your fate, you heard a crunching noise and Slender shrieked out, his tendrils loosening from around you, causing you to yank up your gun and fire into his mouth, making him drop you as he flinched away. Slender tried to find the source of the crystal break, and you pulled yourself away from him, scooting along with your left leg.

You heard Tim yell something, and soon the rocket launchers were being set off and fired at Slender. They landed a hit on him, and even though you were dealt no damage, the force of the impact had you being thrown to the ground. As you tried to get your bearings, you heard someone shouting your name, and you looked up to see Jeff running towards you, calling out your name in worry. He ran up to you and looked over your injuries worriedly. He was speaking to you, asking you questions, but you couldn't hear him. You were crying- crying and chanting his name, but you couldn't hear him. He kept speaking, but as Jack soon got to your side, the light had faded from your vision.

When you next woke, you were resting in a bed, in a room you weren't familiar with. Your shoulder and leg were throbbing out in pain, but you could feel bandages wrapped all around you. Your head was throbbing, and your throat felt hoarse. Blinking your eyes, you tried to adjust to the bright lighting of the room, and when you moved to sit up you were quickly laid back down.

"Ah, don't sit up, for now!" EJ told you, lightly pressing on your good shoulder. "You suffered quite a lot of injuries, and your body needs its rest." You grunted out as you settled back down, and moved your head to the side to look at him more clearly.

"Where are the others?" You questioned him, and he pulled up a chair beside your bed, sitting down with a sigh.

"Those that went on the mission are back here and safe. Everyone has been anxiously working over the last day since you went unconscious. Cherry and Zalgo have been working on locating the final crystal. Zalgo was waiting for you to wake up before asking any questions, as you were the one that had a full conversation with him." You hummed at his statement and requested that you all have your meeting with Zalgo now. Jack left to go find the others, and you waited patiently, watching the clock on the opposite was tic back and forth. Soon, the others all herded into the room, Jeff coming immediately to your side and grasping onto your hand.

"So, I'm assuming there's quite a big question looming on your mind?" Zalgo asked, and you nodded your head, scooting up the slightest bit to see him better. 

"I want to know about her, the woman Slender said he loved." Everyone looked amongst themselves, and Zalgo sighed. 

"Her name was Serenity. She was, as you know, Slender's lover, and she was also a business partner of ours. She was a human, quite a lovely one at that, and she wanted there to be more cooperation between humans and demons." He sighed, staring down at the floor for a moment in thought. "She was the kindest person we'd ever met, up until that point. She always kept the proxies happy, she was always making sure neither of us overworked ourselves. She never judged us for being demons. She just wanted us to be happy."

"Did you love her?" You all looked in shock to Natalie who had tenderly spoken up, but rather than teasing, her face was full of nothing but concern. He went silent again, and eventually, he nodded.

"I was in love with her. Of course, she knew about that, but she never treated me any differently for it, and I never intruded on her relationship. I'm not sure if Slender 100% knew that I liked her, but he was at the very least suspicious of it." Jeff wrapped his hold around you as you listened to Zalgo's words, and you tightened your hold on his hand. 

"I had always thought the red crystal was first but finding out that Serenity was made into a crystal nearly ruined me last night." He was struggling to get his words out, and you all gave him a moment to collect himself. "Cherry has located the crystal. It will be extremely dangerous to get to now. It's hidden in a base that multiple assassins are guarding, including that Cipher you ran into at the mansion." Jane looked shocked at this and rose from her seat in the corner of the room.

"But he should've burned in the fire!" She shouted out and he sighed, shaking his head.

"He escaped into Slender's computer before any real damage was done to him." You all processed his words and knew you'd need to put together a new team. With your injuries, you would be out of commission, and with a base full of cold-blooded killers you'd have to send in the best of the best to take on this next challenge.


	36. I Love You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> EJ went ahead of the other members, being the only demonic entity out of the group and the least likely to suffer severe trauma from injuries obtained. He pretended to play dumb, ignoring one of the snipers resting within the trees, Jack continued to distract the sniper, glancing around and mock hunting for others. Just as the sniper went to shoot, they were shocked to feel something pressing against their throat.
> 
> "Nice try, jackass." Natalie taunted into his ear before slitting his throat, dumping his body from the tree and jumping down herself, landing safely, and jogging back to the rest of the group.
> 
> "Good job, Nat." Helen patted her on the back, dodging another falling body from where Jane dispatched another sniper. 
> 
> "You'd think they'd have been a bit more creative," Jane stated, hopping down and grabbing the sniper rifle strung around the assassin she'd killed. Popping open the gun, she clicked her tongue in annoyance at the ammo loaded inside of it.

With you out of commission, you all decided to be much more selective with who was going to take on this mission. Because the clear crystal would be guarded heavily by hired assassins, you'd be sending in the most skilled out of your group, so you had the highest chance of success. Those that would be heading out would be Jeff, Jane, Natalie, Helen, and Eyeless Jack. Zalgo supplied them with top tier weapons that were nearly impossible to obtain. 

You would be staying at Zalgo's castle with the others, monitoring the situation through one of Zalgo's spyglasses, allowing all of you to watch the others in live time. You all settled into his room, watching as the others made their way up to the hideout the crystal was residing in, which turned out to be quite the infamous building in the Underworld. It was an old mansion resting on the outskirts, and the building itself was possessed, the walls and floors moving and shifting around randomly. 

. . .

EJ went ahead of the other members, being the only demonic entity out of the group and the least likely to suffer severe trauma from injuries obtained. He pretended to play dumb, ignoring one of the snipers resting within the trees, Jack continued to distract the sniper, glancing around and mock hunting for others. Just as the sniper went to shoot, they were shocked to feel something pressing against their throat.

"Nice try, jackass." Natalie taunted into his ear before slitting his throat, dumping his body from the tree and jumping down herself, landing safely, and jogging back to the rest of the group.

"Good job, Nat." Helen patted her on the back, dodging another falling body from where Jane dispatched another sniper. 

"You'd think they'd have been a bit more creative," Jane stated, hopping down and grabbing the sniper rifle strung around the assassin she'd killed. Popping open the gun, she clicked her tongue in annoyance at the ammo loaded inside of it.

"Poisoned bullets, they certainly aren't here to fuck around though." She slung the rifle around her shoulders, keeping it for future usage and to stop any enemies picking it up and using it on them. They all stuck together, racing up to the front of the mansion and readying their weapons. Jeff and Jack stood on either side of the doors, and when the others were ready, they pulled the doors open and dashed inside. They all split up, dashing in different directions to make their way across all of the ground.

Natalie and Helen darted off into the lower floors, making their way downstairs to the basement levels of the mansion. The building creaked around them, seeming to sway itself with the breeze outside. If the two of them weren't careful, they'd end up slipping on the moving ground. Helen halted to a stop suddenly, and Natalie nearly crashed into his back as she stopped behind him, confused at the sudden stop in running before she peeked around him to see what was up. 

"Well, well, well, look what we have here." Helen steeled himself as he stared at the man standing in front of them, Cypher, now in a different form, but with the same annoying smirk on his face.

"Looks like we finally have the chance to kill you for good," Natalie spoke up, standing strong beside Helen as she glared across the hall at Cypher, causing him to laugh out at her words.

"What makes you so sure that I'll be the one dying today?" His electronic body hummed out as if powering up and turning on. Natalie snorted.

"Well, for one thing, there aren't any working electronics in this building," Helen told him, prepping his weapons for the oncoming attack. 

"Ah, yes, that is true. When we leave later, after taking you all out, I'll have to leave normally. It's inconvenient, but I suppose a walk isn't so bad every once in a while." He spoke as though he was talking about his weekend plans with a group of friends, and it only served to piss off Natalie and Helen even more. 

"It'll be us taking the victory walk out of here at the end of that day, unfortunately for you." Natalie shot back, preparing to follow their plan. Helen said that if they were to encounter an enemy that Helen should distract them, and Natalie should run past to continue the search. Cypher smirked at them, and it set them on edge. Natalie went to step back from Helen's side, and Cypher shot out his arms, grabbing onto her and slamming her back into his body before Helen could reach out to stop her.

"You see, I do quite a bit of research on my targets, and you and Natalie have quite a close relationship, and the odds of one of you abandoning the other are zero percent." The tone of his voice had Natalie shivering in disgust and Helen standing on edge. 

"Cypher, let her go." Helen's own voice was firm and determined, and Cypher smirked at him. 

"What if I say no to that?" He chuckled darkly and tightened his grip around Natalie, and if looks could kill, Cypher would've already died from the glare Helen was sending him. 

"Then, your death will only be made more painful." Helen's voice was deep, and he was almost growling out in anger.

"Come on, don't you have anything to say to your boyfriend?" Helen's eyes widened a bit, and Cypher laughed. "What, didn't think anyone knew about the two of you sneaking around and being together?" Helen wanted to charge him, tear him apart from bolt to bolt, but Natalie's soft eyes kept him under control. 

"Helen, it'll be okay..." Natalie's words had him soothed a bit, and Cypher pushed her on, asking her if she had anything else to say. "No matter what happens to me, don't forget the goal," Cypher laughed, "I love you, Helen." Natalie had tears running down her face, and Helen returned her proclamation of love, tears streaming down his own face.

"How sweet, how very romantic," Cypher began, smiling wide and chuckling darkly, "Too bad I'm not a romantic!" He screamed out, and he dived his claws through the middle of Natalie's gut, causing her to choke out with wide eyes as Helen watched in horror, reaching out to find her as she reached out for him. Cypher tossed her body towards him, and Helen caught her, clutched her to his chest and sobbing out as she blinked through her tears, reaching up for him.

"I love you, I love you, I love you..." Helen sobbed out, and she smiled up at him. His mind couldn't help but be filled with her words.

_'I need to protect my family.'_

_'Everyone makes it out of here alive!'_

_'Nobody gets left behind!'_

_'We'll protect them!'_

_'I love you...'_

Her smile floated through his mind as he cried, and she smiled up at him from his arms, her eyes filled with affection. He pressed a kiss to her lips, and she kissed him back. He held her close, and he felt her last breath puff against his cheek. He cried, he screamed, and he held her as gingerly as he could, before finally separating from her, gently resting her again the floor. Cypher laughed in the background, and Helen pulled away from her, fire in his eyes. Cypher would be the next to die today, Helen would make damn well sure of it.


	37. One Left

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You stood aside from Helen as he carried her up the hill, and you all watched, tearing up yourselves as he settled her down into the grave. You all covered her up in the dirt and placed the headstone you made at the front of her grave. Each of you placed a flower upon her and Brian's grave, all of you saying your peace to Natalie, before allowing Helen to be alone with her again as you all made your way back down the hill. Jeff grasped onto you tightly, feeling the fear that it could have been you he'd lost, and you held onto him tightly as well, having the same fear that you could have lost him.
> 
> You only had one more crystal to break, the jagged red one from his first family, and then you would be able to kill him. You'd have to try to take him down all at once when you shattered the crystal. You couldn't let him heal, you couldn't let him get away. You would do everything in your power to take him down and free yourselves and the world from his presence.

Helen laid Natalie down on the ground, and he removed his hoodie to drape it over her body. He rose, weapons ready as he glared over at the still chuckling Cypher.

"You really messed with the wrong people." Helen's voice was filled with anger, and Cypher smirked at the reaction he was getting from him.

"Oh? I wouldn't be so sure about that. After all, I already beat you once." He was cocky, and a scoff came from behind Helen.

"Listen, I'm getting really fucking tired of having to say this to people. We don't lose to the same opponent twice. Had to get that message through some asshole's head when I got my last crystal with Smiley." Jane stated, walking into the hallway behind Helen, as the others followed her. Jane's eyes scanned the hallway looking for Natalie, and when her eyes landed upon a body resting on the ground, face covered by Helen's jacket, Jane looked at him in panic, and he nodded his head. Natalie was gone. The others standing in the room soon became just as enraged as Helen was, and they readied their weapons as well. 

"We took care of the rest of the mansion. Crystal's gotta be in the basement level." Jeff informed Helen, coming up to stand beside him. Cypher laughed at that, and his chest plates began to move, opening up and revealing a shining clear crystal, in a perfect oval, resting inside of him.

"Are you sure about that? I told you, I'm making it out of here alive, and so is this crystal." Helen hummed and pulled out a walkie talkie, and called out your name.

"You heard that, right?" He signed off, and there was a beep before you responded right back at him.

"Heard it loud and clear." Tears could be heard in your voice and other members could be heard crying out in the background, calling out Natalie's name. "Because of what Cherry said, when you smash that clear crystal we'll smash another at the same time." You sniffled out, and you could see Helen nodding from your view of him.

"Well, guys. Looks like the search is done, now we can enter the destruction phase of the plan." Jane stated, cocking her gun and readying to take down Cypher. Cypher readied himself to attack, and just as he went to shoot out his arms to grab someone again Jack pulled out a grappling hook and shot it around him, wrapping around and crunching into his face, pulling him towards Jack, as Jack clawed through him, prying open his chest, revealing the crystal again.

"Where the fuck did you get that?" Jeff questioned him, astonished.

"BEN lent it to me," Jack informed him, keeping the metal chest plates separated as Jeff helped hold down Cypher's arms. "Ready when you are!" He shouted out, directing that to you at Zalgo's castle. Jane went to ready her shot when Helen stopped her.

"Can I do it?" He asked her, and she looked at him sympathetically, nodding, and handing him her gun.

"On your count, Helen." You spoke up through the walkie talkie. Helen began to count down from three, readying his shot as he aimed at the crystal within Cypher's squirming body. As he reached zero, you crushed your own crystal just as he shot through the clear one, causing Cypher to malfunction from the shot through his system. You all felt at ease even more now. Only the red crystal remained now, and then you would all be able to take down Slender. The end was in your sights, and you all cheered for it. Laughing Jack teleported to them, gathering them all up and grabbing everyone, before bringing them back to Zalgo's castle.

Helen cried out again, finally safe from the battle, clutching onto Natalie's body. You all felt like you were intruding on them, and all of you left the room, although Jeff, Jane, and EJ were pulled from the room in a bit of confusion.

"Why are we leaving them alone?" Jane asked, and you all looked between yourselves awkwardly. Zalgo spoke up for all of you.

"It seems, that the two of them were in a relationship. We saw it as we were watching over all of you, but the two of them confessed to dating and stated they loved each other as Natalie was dying." He was unusually emotional as he informed them, and the three of them were quickly tearing up like the rest of you. You all gave Helen a few moments of peace, and when he had collected himself he emerged from the room. There were no tears on his face but his eyes were swollen red and puffy from his crying. 

"We need to... You know. We need to take her and- and-" Helen couldn't get his words out, and Jane moved to comfort him. 

You would need to bury her. Jack asked if he'd like her to be buried by Brian's grave, and Helen nodded, trying not to cry again. Jack teleported back to his carnival with a few others to begin digging a grave for her, and the rest of you all worked together to make a headstone for her. You all gathered a few flowers to place upon her grave upon the hill, and you prepared a few to be place on Brian's grave as well. When Jack came back to gather all of you, Helen moved to go get Natalie, and then he brought her back, bringing her with all of you on your way to the carnival.

You stood aside from Helen as he carried her up the hill, and you all watched, tearing up yourselves as he settled her down into the grave. You all covered her up in the dirt and placed the headstone you made at the front of her grave. Each of you placed a flower upon her and Brian's grave, all of you saying your peace to Natalie, before allowing Helen to be alone with her again as you all made your way back down the hill. Jeff grasped onto you tightly, feeling the fear that it could have been you he'd lost, and you held onto him tightly as well, having the same fear that you could have lost him.

You only had one more crystal to break, the jagged red one from his first family, and then you would be able to kill him. You'd have to try to take him down all at once when you shattered the crystal. You couldn't let him heal, you couldn't let him get away. You would do everything in your power to take him down and free yourselves and the world from his presence.


	38. The Contractors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "There is someone here that might be able to help with that. When the others get here I'll be introducing all of you to them." The three of you looked amongst yourselves nervously, but you all settled into the room to wait upon the others to enter the room. As everyone gradually made their way into the room Zalgo stood at the head of the room by the door, and he cleared his throat.
> 
> "There is someone that would like to meet all of you, although more specifically they're here to meet a specific one of you." His eyes landed on you, and as he moved out of the way, Cherry opened the door and walked into the room, and she cleared her throat as well with a smile.
> 
> "Hello everyone!" She waved dramatically and then smiled fondly at you. "Hello, Pumpkin. Today, there is someone here that wants to meet with you. They're my contractors! You see, I was chosen by them to keep you on task for your destiny, and while it isn't a common occurrence for the contractor to meet the destiny holder, they specially requested to meet you." You swallowed nervously and nodded, causing her to smile as she stood aside and welcomed them into the room. You were quite surprised to see who walked through the door.

With one crystal remaining, all you needed to do was trap Slender and eliminate him, however, after yesterday's crystal breaks the odds of that happening were quite low. He would be unwilling to show himself to all of you, and so you would have to work your ways around that issue. As you all went to gather in Zalgo's observation room again, you were set on edge as you saw Puppeteer and Jane staring into the looking glass with a look of horror on their faces. You limped over to them and gazed into the looking glass as well, although you wished that you hadn't.

"What the fuck is he doing?" You questioned as you gazed through the glass. Slender was hunched over bodies, shoveling the flesh and organs of them into his mouth at a rapid pace. He was absolutely covered in blood, but that wasn't even the worst part of him. From all of the damage, he was unable to recover from his body was melted and distorted- it was as though he was a melting candlestick with cracks and dents deforming him into a mess of melted flesh. 

"He's feeding. He's lost the majority of his power, and so he's trying to heal his injuries. Although, with that amount of sudden damage the odds of that happening are quite low. He'd have to consume thousands of corpses to make up for the lack of power." Zalgo's voice was disinterested behind you, and it sounded as though he was discussing the weather with someone, despite how horrifying this looked. Although, you supposed, Zalgo was an entity himself- this was normal to him.

"If he's doing that I doubt we'll get him to come out and face us," Jane mumbled out, eyes still transfixed upon the sight of Slender devouring the bodies below him. Zalgo hummed, and she finally tore her eyes away to look up at him. 

"There is someone here that might be able to help with that. When the others get here I'll be introducing all of you to them." The three of you looked amongst yourselves nervously, but you all settled into the room to wait upon the others to enter the room. As everyone gradually made their way into the room Zalgo stood at the head of the room by the door, and he cleared his throat.

"There is someone that would like to meet all of you, although more specifically they're here to meet a specific one of you." His eyes landed on you, and as he moved out of the way, Cherry opened the door and walked into the room, and she cleared her throat as well with a smile.

"Hello everyone!" She waved dramatically and then smiled fondly at you. "Hello, Pumpkin. Today, there is someone here that wants to meet with you. They're my contractors! You see, I was chosen by them to keep you on task for your destiny, and while it isn't a common occurrence for the contractor to meet the destiny holder, they specially requested to meet you." You swallowed nervously and nodded, causing her to smile as she stood aside and welcomed them into the room. You were quite surprised to see who walked through the door.

"Introducing the Heir and Heiress of the of the Mann Hunting Company, Alastair Mann and his wife, Elizabeth Joan Mann. The two of them are the owners of the Underworld's largest assassination organization, and they also happen to be the parents of Slender. They were made aware of the prophecy soon after slender was born, and have waited anxiously for the day that he would be stopped." Cherry informed you as your visitors walked into the room. They carried an air of elegance and professionalism.

Both of them had Slender's pale white skin, although they also had physical features upon their faces. Elizabeth was tall and slim, with moderate curves upon her body. She had long, luscious hair and had the beauty of a model. Alastair was firm and built strong, quite handsome with slicked-back hair, and a pair of horns resting upon his head. They both commanded the room when they walked into it, and you could tell it would be unwise to try and mess with them. They were the owners of an assassination organization after all. Elizabeth called out your name, and you rose from where you were sitting. Her eyes were cold upon her entry to the room, but they softened considerably as she gazed upon you.

"The brave warrior of the hour, although we were quite surprised to discover that our savior is human." She gazed upon your injuries and her eyes narrowed. "I take it my... Son did all of that?" You nodded at her question and she clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"Slender has always been different, you see. While he did grow up with his parents running a killing business, we tried to raise him to be kind and caring to those around him." Alastair's voice had a deep timbre that echoed throughout the room, and you found yourself almost hypnotized by his presence.

"Even from a young age, he seemed to be solely transfixed upon gaining power and being better than those around him. No matter how many attempts we made to deter him from that path, he never strayed from his goals. We went to a prophet when he reached his teens and sought their help, and they informed us of his prophecy. Ever since that day, we've been waiting patiently for your arrival, young one." Elizabeth walked over to you, and she knelt before you, grasping your hands in her own. You were quite shocked at this, as some time ago Zalgo had informed you one day when you were questioning him that an Eldritch monster bowing before a human was an extremely great honor. Even Zalgo himself was on edge in the room.

"I beseech you to finish off my son. For our sake, for the world's sake, and for your own sake- if you can carry out your own destiny, we will award you with any gift that your soul might desire. We will also supply you with anything you need to finish him off." You were in amazement at the situation occurring, and as you stared into her firm eyes you felt yourself becoming confident. Like this was what you were meant to do. You stood tall and firm and nodded your head.

"I am prepared to do whatever it takes to finish off Slender, as are the others in this room. We would all be proud to finish this task." She smiled at you, and rose to her full height, once again towering over you. She patted your head and began to walk back to her husband, wrapping her arm around his own.

"When you are ready, make your way to our company. We will assist you with your duties. Until then." She blew you a kiss, and the two of them teleported away. Everyone seemed to let out a breath as they left a room, but you all had boosted morale at this new discovery. You all knew you could finish him off now, you would fulfill your destiny, if not for yourselves, for those two to give them peace.


	39. The Final Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It's a special defense paneling. Quite interesting, isn't it?" Elizabeth's voice drifted out from behind you, and you all turned around to see her standing behind you, a coy smile upon her face. "Glad to see you all made it safely. Now, shall we enter?" She passed through your group easily, and you all followed behind her quickly as she revealed the door to the building, stepping aside to let all of you enter.
> 
> The interior of the building was just as intricate as the outside. The floors and walls were neatly polished and shiny, with crystals and jewels decorating many of the surfaces. There were glowing stones resting upon the surfaces, lighting up the interior in place of normal lights. She led you along through several hallways and up multiple floors. You passed hundreds of beings on your journey, some of them were humans and some of them were demons, but no matter how tough and cruel all of them looked, they all seemed to cower down respectfully when Elizabeth walked past them. She led you to a room on one of the top floors, the doors to said room guarded by a pair of demons, and they bowed respectfully as Elizabeth walked into the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is t e c h n i c a l l y the final chapter of the story, although there will be another last chapter tomorrow that will be an update set in the future to give you some insight into how the creeps progress without Slender.
> 
> Thanks for keeping up with the story you guys!!

The next morning, you all woke up bright and early to go to the Mann Hunting Company and have a meeting with Alastair and Elizabeth. You all packed up anything you might need, making sure to bring the red crystal, and you all met in the throne room before warping over. 

"Make sure you're all very careful and respectful over there. You might be an ally to them, but they're still the owners of the most highly ranked assassination company in the entirety of the Underworld." Zalgo warned all of you as you all finished readying yourselves. When you all stood together, he surrounded you all with his warp gate, and he sent you off to the company.

. . .

When you landed, you were standing in front of an extremely large building. It had at least 30 floors and seemed to stretch out farther than your eyes could see. The building was black and paneled, and while the building looked quite odd with said paneling, you soon understood it as the paneling became clear, erasing the building from sight. 

"It's a special defense paneling. Quite interesting, isn't it?" Elizabeth's voice drifted out from behind you, and you all turned around to see her standing behind you, a coy smile upon her face. "Glad to see you all made it safely. Now, shall we enter?" She passed through your group easily, and you all followed behind her quickly as she revealed the door to the building, stepping aside to let all of you enter.

The interior of the building was just as intricate as the outside. The floors and walls were neatly polished and shiny, with crystals and jewels decorating many of the surfaces. There were glowing stones resting upon the surfaces, lighting up the interior in place of normal lights. She led you along through several hallways and up multiple floors. You passed hundreds of beings on your journey, some of them were humans and some of them were demons, but no matter how tough and cruel all of them looked, they all seemed to cower down respectfully when Elizabeth walked past them. She led you to a room on one of the top floors, the doors to said room guarded by a pair of demons, and they bowed respectfully as Elizabeth walked into the room.

"So, shall we begin the meeting now?" Alastair questioned from where he was sitting in the room, gazing upon all of you questioningly as you all entered behind Elizabeth, the doors being slammed shut behind you. He beckoned you all forward, and you all took a seat upon the long conference table stretching throughout the room.

"I was wondering," Elizabeth began as she sat next to you, "If I could take a look at that final crystal that you have?" You surely looked nervous at her question, but she gave you a reassuring smile and you took off your backpack, opening it up and handing her the box resting within it that contained the crystal. 

She hummed as she opened the box and gazed upon the luminescent red crystal resting within. She pulled the crystal from its box, and carefully dragged her fingertips along the many points surrounding the sides of it. The crystal seemed to glow brighter while resting within her hands, and she handed it back to you when she seemed satisfied with it.

"He gained the powers to do it from me, although, I would never have used my powers for something so crude." She stated as she watched you place the box back into your bag.

"What did you use them for?" Jane asked curiously from across the table, and Elizabeth had a bittersweet smile at the question.

"Before I was in the assassination business, I was in the funeral business, as that's the business my family was in. When people would have their loved ones cremated, I would use my powers to turn them into crystals bearing their memories. It's a very unique talent even amongst the Underworld, and I'm quite proud of all the work I did those days." 

You all continued to talk with her for a few more minutes, and then all of the group began formulating a plan to take out Slender. Alastair assured you that they could lure him to a specific location, and they would provide you with weapons that would be able to do him in. Elizabeth also had another request for you to do as you finished him.

"I want you to trap his sound inside of this." She told you, as she pulled out an ornate black crystal. "All you need to do is hold it up to him, and it will do the work for you. You'll know it's worked when the crystal turns clear." You nodded your head at her words and placed the crystal inside the box that contained the red one. They took you all to the weapon room, and as you all armored up you prepared to leave.

. . .

You all found yourselves waiting anxiously at the place Elizabeth instructed you to go to, the place in question being the site of where the mansion used to be. All that remained now was ash and destroyed chunks of wood that hadn't completely burned in the fire. As you all waited, a magical symbol began to appear upon the ground, and within minutes, Slender was standing within the symbol. He looked around in shock and confusion, and when his face landed upon you, he quickly grew angered. He went to step toward you, to reach out and grab you, but a force field quickly rose up to keep him restrained. 

He went to speak- but before you would even give him the chance you had crushed the red crystal below your feet, and all of you had opened fire upon him. You looked amongst the faces of those standing beside you as you pulverized him. Some of you looked smug at the situation, some were emotionless- there were even a couple of you that seemed sad at the sight of what was happening. You emptied your rounds into him as you were instructed, and his body no longer healed. He just simply laid in a heap upon the ground, unmoving, flesh melting off of him. 

"What? Come to rub it in my face?" He taunted you, as you slowly approached him with the black crystal. You shook your head and knelt down outside of the reach of the magic symbol.

"I'm just here to do a favor for your mother." He grew quiet at that, and any resistance held in his body let go as he slouched against the ground. 

"My mother? Surprised she even still remembers me. She disowned me, took away my family name, and cut me out of her life, and what? She sends some stupid human to do her a favor in my last moments? Some mother she is." You didn't answer his statement, as it seemed it wasn't quite directed at you. You simply held the black crystal out to him, and you nearly dropped it as the crystal began to suddenly glow within your fingers. Slender shuddered suddenly, and as the crystal continued to be surrounded by light his body went completely lax. By the time the glow ended, you were left with a clear shining crystal resting within your palms. Slender's body, resting on the ground, began to dissolve into the ground, the grass and vines of the surrounding area covering him and taking away his body. You all huddled back up, and soon, you were warped back to the company building.

. . .

"Do you have the crystal?" Elizabeth questioned you anxiously as you all got back to the conference room, and you supplied her with the shining crystal that had been resting within your hands.

"What's the point of the crystal?" You asked her, and she hummed before placing it within a locked box.

"Eldritch beings are able to reincarnate upon death. The only way to halt that process is to trap their soul within an item, such as a crystal, and it will stop them from gaining life again." She explained to you as the box was sealed away. She turned back to you with a smile, and she walked over to you, taking your hands within her own.

"Well, you kept your end of the deal! Now it's time that I keep mine. I promised you I would give you anything you wanted, and I plan to uphold that promise. So, dear savior, what is it that you desire?" You looked amongst the creeps in the room, and you smiled, looking back at Elizabeth with a wide grin.

"Well, I think that I would like..."

. . .

You relaxed with the others at Zalgo's castle. He and his proxies had prepared a large feast for all of you to share as a celebration for your success. You all laughed and joked around with the others in the room, and you had nearly forgotten the struggles you'd been through to get here, finally overjoyed at the weight taken off of all of you.

Elizabeth had promised each of you a reward, and she would spend the next few days preparing for the answers that you had given her, getting everything ready for all of you. You all spent the night partying, and bonding together. You'd have nothing to worry about for another week- the temporary pact you had formed with Zalgo still had a good chunk of time left for you to all get ready for the future. You all knew one thing was certain, however- no matter what struggles would come upon you, no matter what trials and tasks you had to face, you would all be facing them together, as a family, as a team. You'd all make sure of it, no matter what might happen to all of you.


	40. Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Then, of course, there was you and Jeff. The two of you stuck together through all of the mess as well. Jeff went on to become the top assassin in the Mann Hunting Company, and the two of you bought a nice cabin in the woods for the two of you to reside in, and you spent quite a lot of time just enjoying each other's company and savoring the quiet of the forest. You had just finished putting dinner in the oven when you felt two long arms loop around you, Jeff nuzzling his head into your neck and pressing a few kisses there.
> 
> You spun around in his arms and held his face in your hands, pressing a few kisses to his lips which he eagerly returned and you laughed as he tugged you firmly against him. You pulled away and he held onto your hands with his own, running his fingers over the rings decorating your left hand. Oh yes, how could you have forgotten to think over that; the two of you had been married a year after everything had calmed down, and the two of you couldn't be happier. Jeff pulled you closer to his chest, and he began to sway back and forth with you to the music playing softly from your radio.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song of choice for this chapter; Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles
> 
> Thank you all so so much for all of the support you've shown this book.
> 
> I wasn't expecting this to get nearly as much love, support, and attention as it has and it means so much to me! 
> 
> Thank you all, again. I hope you enjoyed it.

A lot has happened over the last 10 years. There were many ups and downs for your group of friends, but no matter what happened, you all kept your word and stuck together, through thick and thin. You all chose somewhat different paths, but you would all still meet at least once a week for a family dinner on Sunday. You were currently preparing to cook said dinner as you reminisced over what had happened for each person over time...

You started with Laughing Jack, who became a full-time carnival owner! With the loss of his job with Slender, all he wanted was to indulge himself in an attempt at happiness, and so he decided that rather than opening it 2 times a year, he would have it open year-round. He was worried at first that business wouldn't remain consistent, but business was still booming every day, even 10 years later! He was even sweet enough to give all of you a free pass to come when you'd like, and all of you made frequent visits to Jack. You all also make constant trips back to visit Brian and Natalie's graves whenever you could.

Then, of course, there was Jason! He ended up opening up his own toy store in the Underworld. He sold a variety of toys, some meant for villainous purposes, and some just for everyday snuggle usage. His business became quite popular, and he has several different locations spotted across the Underworld. Although, when he isn't working on designing new toys, he helps out Jack at his carnival and designs costumes for the performers to wear.

Speaking of costumes, Jane went on to pursue her love for fashion after everything ended. She actually ended up working under Elizabeth for quite a while, establishing her name in the fashion and modeling industry. She frequently travels across the Underworld, working for expensive clients, and designing clothes for them to wear to special events. She even caught the attention of a few angels and has pursued some work in the Overworld as well. When not traveling she assists Liu and EJ in their endeavors.

Both Liu and EJ opened an orphanage in the Underworld. They had Alastair and Elizabeth assist them in renovating the abandoned mansion where they lost one of their dear friends Natalie, and with Helen's permission, they named their orphanage the Ouellette Foundation. The two of them live there with Sally and BEN, and they take in demons and humans that have been abandoned in the Underworld due to varying circumstances. They help the children cope with the trauma they've obtained, and adopt them out to families that would be right for them.

Speaking of BEN, he's made quite the name for himself in the Underworld as well. No longer working specifically in the murder business, he works for Alastair as an information gatherer. After the death of Cypher, a new spot opened up and BEN claimed that spot quite quickly. He's making quite a large chunk of money these days, but of course, most of it is spent on merchandise and gaming consoles.

Smiley went on to cooperate with Elizabeth and create a new medical company in the Underworld that focuses on furthering medical sciences. He's created many new medications within the last few years that have helped many different people of many different species. He's also worked to shut down companies like the ones Slender used to buy from that would put memory suppressants and other harmful alterations into their drugs. 

Puppeteer decided to form a permanent contract with Zalgo. He's currently one of Zalgo's lead executives amongst the proxies, and he's grown to be one of the most sought after assassins within the Underworld. Although, most of his time is spent pestering his good friend Helen and keeping him company as Helen has become quite the recluse over the years.

Helen went on to become a full-time artist after everything was said and done; although he still works for Zalgo on occasion when he's not too busy with his paintings and drawings. Of course, he still finds that murder is just the best form of inspiration that he can find within the Underworld. His most popular painting that he became known for was called 'The Red Lady', and while most people don't know, its a painting of Natalie. He spent several years painting it to absolute perfection, and it's renowned for its beauty.

Tim and Toby are another duo that stuck together after everything was said and done. They went on to do freelance assassination work for a while and wracked up quite a lot of money. The two of them then retired together and bought a nice sized ranch and now do farm work to make money, and neither of them is complaining about it at all. In fact, they haven't been quite so happy in a long time. 

Then, of course, there was you and Jeff. The two of you stuck together through all of the mess as well. Jeff went on to become the top assassin in the Mann Hunting Company, and the two of you bought a nice cabin in the woods for the two of you to reside in, and you spent quite a lot of time just enjoying each other's company and savoring the quiet of the forest. You had just finished putting dinner in the oven when you felt two long arms loop around you, Jeff nuzzling his head into your neck and pressing a few kisses there.

You spun around in his arms and held his face in your hands, pressing a few kisses to his lips which he eagerly returned and you laughed as he tugged you firmly against him. You pulled away and he held onto your hands with his own, running his fingers over the rings decorating your left hand. Oh yes, how could you have forgotten to think over that; the two of you had been married a year after everything had calmed down, and the two of you couldn't be happier. Jeff pulled you closer to his chest, and he began to sway back and forth with you to the music playing softly from your radio.

The two of you continued to sway back and forth in time with the soft melody floating across the room. You hummed softly with your head resting upon his chest, and he leaned down to press kisses to the top of your head, tightening his hold on you as he sighed out in contentment. Neither of you spoke, for you both knew words were unnecessary at the moment. The two of you only halted your romantic embrace as the sound of footsteps running into the room sounded out and you looked over Jeff's arm to see your little boy bouncing excitedly in the doorway. Your little one, Ace, who you two had adopted a few years ago from Jack and Liu's orphanage, who quickly became a ray of light in your growing family. 

"Look, look, I finished my drawing!" He excitedly yelled out, rushing up to you to show you the paper resting in his hands. You took the paper from him and overlooked it curiously, smiling down at it with tears blooming in your eyes. It was a drawing of all of you together, every single member of your group, all smiling happily together. 

"Do you like it?" He asked you nervously, and you smiled down at him with a nod, patting him on his head as you moved to pin his drawing to the fridge.

"I think it's fantastic, sweetheart." You told him, and he held onto your waist as he excitedly watched you pin it up.

"I think you could've made me a bit more handsome." Jeff teased as he patted Ace on the back, and Ace jokingly scoffed and said that only you found Jeff handsome, causing Jeff to scoff right back and pick him up, twirling him around and tickling him, causing him to burst into laughter.

"Alright, come on boys, help me set the table." You chided them through your own laughs, picking up plates to bring out to the table placed in your backyard for these get-togethers. The two of them groaned out in annoyance but quickly helped you carry out the things you'd need for tonight. You all quickly set the table together, and as you heard voices approaching the front of your house, Ace and Jeff darted off to greet your guests.

You laughed and shook your head at them, finishing up the table placements in front of you. You rose from your bent over position and stretched out your back with a groan. You glanced over the woods surrounding your home, and you felt at peace in the world, with a smile resting upon your lips. As the others began to fill into the backyard, you greeted them all with hugs and laughter, everyone settling into their seats as Jeff brought the food out. 

You looked across the woods again, and for a moment you caught the sight of what you thought was a tall being, dressed in a suit, and face white with no features. You settled in with a smile nonetheless and passed around the casserole dish when it was handed to you. It seemed everyone was here today, and you were quite happy about that thought. You all laughed and dined together for the evening, and as everyone got up and ran around, you watched from your seat at the table, and Jeff looked at you with a smile, pressing a kiss to your cheek as he rose from his own seat and said the words written across both of your minds.

"I love you."

Love, indeed.


End file.
